The Blue Mask and Red Flame
by Suncreeper
Summary: Several nights ago, Leonardo and his brothers rescued a girl from harm in Central Park twice. Several nights later, she reappears and saves them back. When it is revealed that she is a magician with nowhere to go in New York City, they decide to let her stay with them. What should they do when Leonardo finds himself falling for her? (LeoxOC, 2012 version.)
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys! This is going to be my first ever fanfic on the site ^^! I'm real excited and can't wait to start. You may already notice by my fanfic choice I'm a TMNT fan. I love both the 2k3 version and new CGI version. So it was a hard thing to choose between whether to set this in 2k3 or 2012.

Before we continue, you will notice that this fanfic includes an OC: Ahnnie. HOLD THE ELEVATOR, FOLKS; she's not my OC. She's an OC that belongs to rubyhardflames, and who I am including in this fic with her express permission. I guess you can say that this is a fan-fanfic of sorts. She's the OC that appears in two of ruby's stories: Konoha Mission to Halloween Mountain (Naruto) and On the Road to Naglimund (Tad Williams), not to be confused with the Ahnnie Quang in ruby's Legend of Drizzt fic. She is a magician ruby made up along with two other siblings, whose power is based on that of imagination. The origin story is kind of long to tell but hopefully ruby will put up a fic that will explain it soon.

Ok, so, why did I choose to write about Ahnnie? In real life, ruby is a friend of mine and in fact she has made up many more stories about Ahnnie than she's posted on this site. I was looking through those stories, and they're really good; there's lots of adventure, magic, fantasy, and friendship; but I saw something missing...romance!

So I asked her if I could pair Ahnnie up with one of the ninja turtles, as I am a fan of them. She was skeptical at first, but decided to put my writing skills to the test. And so here I am.

I finally decided then to set this fanfic in the new 2012 version. I mean, I will always see the turtles in their 2k3 forms but 2012 is, I have to admit, funnier and easier for kids to watch. I want some humor in this fic and the 2k3 version just didn't have enough of it, so I went along with 2012. I've kind of just watched it though so pardon me if there is anything you advanced viewers find missing or lacking. The only thing I dislike about the new version is April becoming a teen and Donatello's love interest. She becomes kind of a Mary-Sue in my opinion, but that's just me (did you also know that her voice actor is that of Katara's from ATLA? It gets confusing sometimes O.o). I'm still gonna include her in this fic, though!

Oh yes, and this story won't be set in any exact timeline of the show, so just treat this as a separate story.

Ok, 'nough said. I do not own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or even Ahnnie, but am writing this for entertainment purposes only.

* * *

_**"The city, the lights, the action; this is our stage, where we rule the night. This is our base, down in the big NYC!"**_

* * *

One night, in Central Park...

Leonardo raced through the night, the laces of his headband streaming behind him like twin blue streams. Gripped in his hands were the hilts of his katana swords, his weapons in deadly combat. He and his brothers had tracked down another one of those Kraang vans, stopped them from kidnapping another scientist, destroyed the van and sent them scattering, but one of them had escaped. That was the one he was looking for, and he had followed it all the way to the Park. The problem right now was; where did it go? The Park sure was huge...but if it got away with the canister...

_There doesn't seem to be anyone else out here, _Leonardo thought as he stopped behind a tree. _So I'm safe from humans, for now. That should mean the Kraang isn't hard to find. But did it get away, or is it going to bait me beyond the corner...?_

The Kraang, though nothing more than brain-shaped aliens with tentacles, moved around in human-shaped robots known as Kraangdroids. The robots had the ability to project a human disguise, but the only disguise it could take on was that of an unemotional black-haired, black-suited businessman. Other than that they were easy to spot with their same tonal drone and really, really jarbled grasp of English grammar. They came to earth bearing mutagen, a strange hazardous-waste type of substance that mutated any human or animal with another animal or plant that happened to be nearby.

Leonardo, his brothers, and Splinter-sensei were victims of this mutagen. There were others, too, such as Snakeweed (who died), Spiderbites (who also died), Dr. Rockwell who they hadn't heard of in a while, and then Dogpound and Fishface, who worked for Shredder.

Shredder, or Oroku Saki, was Splinter-sensei's rival from his time back in Japan. Both men loved a woman named Tang Shen, but Tang Shen only loved Splinter-sensei. This made Oroku Saki jealous to the point that he sought to destroy Splinter...it didn't work. Instead, Tang Shen was killed and she and Splinter's daughter, Miwa, went missing. Shredder and his Foot ninja eventually became the turtles' enemies when they came to New York seeking revenge against Splinter-sensei.

But back to the matters at hand. Leonardo peeked a little beyond he tree, looking left and right, back and forth, until he surmised that there truly was nothing there. Then he heard some movement to his far right, although a few trees were blocking that line of vision.

"What the freak!?" he heard someone scream.

Leonardo jolted and hid behind the tree again. That was no Kraang, it was a human!

"Wh-who; I mean; _what_ are you!? You have a brain in your _chest_!"

It was a human who had seen a Kraang!

"It is not what you call a brain but a Kraang for which we are known as," a robotic voice replied. "You cannot overpower a Kraang within a Kraangdroid with what you call your arms, for what you call your arms do not possess enough strength to even dent a Kraang within a Kraangdroid as it has much more strength than what you call your arms-"

The Kraang did not have time to finish its sentence. Leonardo leapt out of his hiding spot and jumped in front of the human the Kraang was facing. He didn't exactly stop to take a look at the scene; all he knew was that there was a Kraang debating on strength with a human (most likely meaning it was going to use force) and he couldn't let it take action.

"So it is one of those who call themselves the turtles," the Kraangdroid remarked. It wasn't using its businessman disguise at the moment, but its true form: a translucent blue robotic body with obviously robotic joints and a cockpit-sort-of thing where the brain-shaped Kraang resided.

"Yeah, and so what?" Leo snapped. Come to think of it, it was really strange for this Kraangdroid to not be using a disguise. They were disguised just moments ago back at the van. Unless the human had done something to it? But never mind, what was more important was that this Kraang was holding up its laser gun, getting ready to fire.

Leonardo looked behind him to see if the human had gone. Well what do you know? She was still there. Staring at them with a baffled look on her face. _Ugh, humans! _"Duck!" he yelled, and when she didn't he had to leap out at her and push her to the ground.

The Kraangdroid let fire, showering pink laser blasts above their heads and into several trees. Leonardo didn't wait for a gap in the firing; instead, he jumped up as soon as he could and backtracked around the Kraang with his head low to avoid the lasers. The Kraangdroid turned and fired wherever he went, but he was fast enough to avoid getting hit. Soon enough he came up behind the droid and, before it could even whirl around, slashed harshly at its back with his sword. The damage sent sparks flying and made the droid jerk awkwardly; then it slumped to the ground with a lifeless whrr. The panel in the middle of its body opened up, and the slithery Kraang inside awakened, letting out a series of short screeches before crawling speedily away.

"Well, that's all of them," Leo remarked as he sheathed his katanas. _Time to get back to the others. _He turned to leave, but suddenly found himself face-to-face with the human he'd just rescued. "Uh..."

"You..." she began, but Leonardo didn't even wait for her to continue.

Instead, he dashed up into the nearest tree and went on from there, jumping from tree to tree in the direction of the Park's exit.

"Hey, wait!" the human had called after him, but Leonardo was too far away to hear by then.

* * *

"I got that last one, guys," Leonardo said as he came up to his brothers. They were situated on the typical rooftop in a semi-circle, weapons already sheathed. "So, how'd it go for you?"

"We got the job done," Raphael said matter-of-factly with a cocky grin.

"Now let's go for some PIZZA!" Michelangelo whooped, pumping his arms into the air.

Donatello whacked him in the head with his staff. "Not so fast, we've got to get back to Splinter. We have to give in our report, remember?"

"Aww!" Mikey whined. "Can't we just get some first and eat it when we get home?"

"What, are we fresh out of pizza already?" Leo asked them curiously.

"Raph ate the last slice!" the orange-masked turtle accused, pointing at Raphael.

"Your fault for leaving it there!" he growled in reply.

Leonardo shook his head. "Ok, ok, guys; enough. We can get pizza later. Splinter must be waiting for us."

"It's still unfair," Michelangelo muttered under his breath as they started to move.

Back at the lair, Splinter-sensei was indeed waiting for them. Splinter, and April.

"Ohmigosh!" Donatello exclaimed. "A-April, when did you get here?"

"I was training with sensei," April explained with a bow to the dark brown rat mutant. "And I was just about to leave. My aunt's going to be home soon, so I gotta head back as fast as I can."

"We'll see you tomorrow?" Donnie asked her hopefully.

April smiled. "Sure, why not? Have a good night!"

"Y-you too!" Donatello trilled after her. "Good night! Sweet dreams! No, wait, um, what was that rhyme again? No, it's _good night, __don't let the..._the what? Oh whatever; _don't let the Kraangdroids bite!_"

Raphael chuckled. "Smooth, Donnie...smooth."

When she was out of earshot, Donatello turned around again with a dreamy smile on his face. "I said good night to her," he said, sounding only half-awake.

"So, my sons," Splinter interrupted them as they filed into the dojo. "How did it go?"

"We were trailing after a Kraang van," Leonardo began, "and it happened to be heading towards another scientist's lab. We stopped it in time and started fighting with the Kraang-"

"I hit three at a time with my 'chucks!" Mikey interrupted.

"-yeah, that's nice," Leo remarked, then quickly went back to what he was saying. "But then one of the Kraang slipped away, and I told the others to take care of the rest while I went after it. I followed it into Central Park."

Sensei nodded sagely. "I see. And?"

"And when I got there, I found the Kraang scaring a girl." There was some muted laughter from Raphael, but he tried his best to ignore that. "I protected her, defeated it, and then I left."

"Did she see you?" Splinter asked.

"Uh...a little, I think...but I don't think she saw me very clearly."

The rat sensei sighed. "It was inevitable. But other than that, you have all done a good job, my sons."

"Thank you, sensei," they all said in unison.

* * *

Later, while they were relaxing, Raph and Mikey decided they wouldn't let Leonardo off the hook. Just as he was switching onto his favorite TV show, Space Heroes, they suddenly came to sit on either side of him with very mischievous smiles on their faces.

"What is it this time?" Leo asked exasperatedly. "Can't you see I'm trying to watch TV?"

"Yeah, we can see that," Mikey said. He was still smiling.

"Soooo..." Raph began with a stretch of his arms. "Our hero rescued his first damsel today. We should be happy for you, don't you think?"

Leonardo looked from Michelangelo to Raphael. "What do you mean?" he asked slowly.

"Isn't it kind of every hero's thing to have a girl to rescue?" Michelangelo asked.

"I don't think Captain Ryan has one," their older brother said matter-of-factly. "And anyway, I was just doing what needed to be done. It's not like I could leave her to the Kraang. Just because you rescue someone of the opposite gender, doesn't mean you're in love with them."

"Ahem." Raphael pointed over at Donatello.

Leo frowned. "We all rescued April! That doesn't count."

"Yes it does," Mikey argued. "In fact, it makes yours more special; you were _alone _with her! But we were all there with April! Get it, do you get it? Right? Guys?" He looked from Raph to Leo.

Raphael blinked. "Uh, sure. Yeah." He was slowly realizing Mikey's point. "Yeah!"

"Well, you can keep her," Donatello said from where he was fiddling with another electronic. "To me, there is no one else that can equal April's beauty. No one."

"Oh, whatever!" Leo suddenly exclaimed. "Geez, all I do is rescue a girl I don't even know and you're already making fun of me. I should have never told sensei about it in front of you."

Raphael chuckled. "Whatever you say, hero boy."

From the kitchen, where he was sipping tea, Splinter was listening to their banter with a cocked eyebrow.

* * *

Nighttime in Central Park again. All four turtle brothers had trailed after another troop of Kraangdroids, who for some reason headed back to the Park. Leonardo guessed it must have been the girl...but that was just a guess. The others (except maybe for Mikey) had come to that same conclusion too, although not without teasing him (even though it had been two days since he last saw her).

"Ok guys, when I give the signal, we roll," Leo instructed them. They were in the treetops, watching the Kraangdroids meandering about in their boring businessmen disguises. It looked like they were searching for something per the turtles' guess, but the way the droids did it, it was hard to tell.

Suddenly one of the Kraangdroids turned to another Kraangdroid, and said something to it. The turtles were a little too far to hear it though.

"Kraang, we...called the bridge...shall detonate...call themselves turtles..." Those were the snippets of speech they could catch.

"What did they say!?" Mikey hissed in frustration.

"Shh!" Donatello shushed. "I don't know! I think it involves a bridge?"

"And us," Raphael pointed out.

"Whatever the case," Leonardo said, "we'll get them before they do anything."

"Kraang," the other Kraangdroid began responding. "that...called...plan is...that cannot...turtles."

The turtles were quiet. They continued to crouch in wait until the Kraangdroids began to turn their backs and then...

"Go!"

The two Kraangdroids had just whirled back around again at the noise when Raphael and Michelangelo came kicking into their robotic faces. Raph savagely tore at a Kraangdroid's face with his sais and then dove the point of one dagger into the robot's chest, impaling a Kraang. Mikey knocked the head of his opponent sideways and slashed the body open with the hooked blade he activated at the end of his nunchaku. The screeching Kraang slithered out but was kicked away by Raph.

Leonardo and Donatello were occupied as well with two other Kraangdroids. They were working back to back, whacking and slashing at their enemies until those two Kraang were also disabled. Then, almost as if on cue, a barrage of pink laser fire opened from their side that they barely even dodged.

The four brothers regrouped and then split up in two again as they were racing to take on the shooting Kraangdroids on either flank. This time it was Raph and Don, and Leo and Mikey.

"Yaaah!" Leo yelled as he put his katanas to work, the blades flashing mercilessly in the moon's cold light. He had disarmed the Kraang with one slash and sliced it's droid's face with another to follow up. Then he stabbed it through the middle and kicked the body away. Mikey had been able to dance around his Kraangdroid, tying it up with the chains of his nunchaku without its knowing. Then he pulled his weapons, and the Kraang was so tightened that it dropped its gun. The orange-masked turtle let go and the momentum sent the droid spinning. Kraangs could apparently feel dizziness, for the one Michelangelo felled slipped out of its robot body swaying drunkenly.

"Haha, nice one Mikey!" Leo praised as he slashed another droid.

Donatello had managed to push one Kraangdroid down by jabbing its chest with the end of his staff and kicked its gun away before it could reach for it. Then, pressing a button that activated a curved naginata blade, he slashed down on the droid...but the Kraang that came out ended up latching onto him. He screamed and flailed around, dropping his weapon, but thanks to Raphael's sais the Kraang was quickly removed and Don's staff quickly recovered.

"Phew, thanks," the purple-masked turtle said with a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, just keep from getting your butt kicked next time," Raph spat.

"Hey! I wasn't-"

"Enough, guys!" Leonardo scolded from the other side. "Focus on the fighting!"

And so they did. They went on just as before, until there were only two Kraangdroids left. When those Kraangs realized they were in a tight situation, they turned to one another and said:

"Kraang, Kraang must aid Kraang in the capture of what is called the human female. Kraang will take care of those who call themselves the turtles."

And with that, one of them left quite speedily around the bend.

"Not so fast!" Raphael growled. He reached into a pouch, withdrawing two shuriken, and threw it with deadly precision at the fleeing Kraangdroid. One struck the back, the other sailed away. The most damage it had done was unveil the droid's disguise, but that was about it.

The remaining Kraangdroid began to loose some more laser fire. The turtles scrambled to keep from getting hit, momentarily stalling any further attacks or plans on the Kraang.

_Human female, _Leonardo thought, remembering the Kraangdroid's words. _They can't mean...?_

"Leo!" Donatello yelled. "I think...I think they're planning to kidnap someone...Oh no, NOT APRIL!?"

"C'mon, Donnie!" Leonardo chided. "What's the chance of that? April's with her aunt right now. There's no way she can be here!"

"But-"

"Hello!?" Mikey waved his arms in front of them. "Are the both of you just gonna stand there and talk about April? Isn't there someone that needs saving!?"

"Hmph. And he tries to act like a hero," Raphael added sarcastically.

Leonardo gave a facepalm and turned in the direction where the second Kraangdroid fled. "You're right. I'll be back soon!"

"Hey, I'm comin' to help you!" Raphael called after him. But then the Kraangdroid began shooting again, and Leonardo left without looking back, so he didn't exactly know whether or not Raph was able to follow him or not.

It was only a ten second dash around some trees and a path until Leonardo arrived at the spot the Kraangdroids had been talking about. But there were no Kraang around. There was just more of the park, a little river, a bridge and...

_That girl..._

She was leaning against the bridge's stone railing, cupping her chin in her hands and staring up at the full moon with a thoughtful look in her eyes. Leonardo knew it was that same girl because she was wearing the same clothes as before: a white blouse-tee and black leggings. Her long black hair stood out against the white of her shirt, almost glowing in the moonlight with the contrast.

Leonardo shook himself. Where were the Kraangdroids? Why weren't they here, as promised?

_What if this isn't the human female they're talking about? _he wondered.

Just as he thought so, two Kraang emerged ahead from nearby trees and walked calmly towards the bridge, their backs turned to Leo. Two more came from the other side of the bridge, and another came from behind the first two. Leonardo recognized it as the one that fled from its stripped disguise.

"That which is known as the human female is useful to the research of the Kraang," one of them said robotically. "Therefore, Kraang must capture that which is called the human female."

The girl slowly withdrew from the rail and looked back and forth at them. "What? More of you? And now you want to capture me? I'm not coming with you! I'll resist!"

"If what is called the human female will not come along with Kraang, then Kraang will have no known choice but to destroy what is called the human female." It held something round and shiny with dull spikes up in its hands.

"Hey!" Leonardo called out, interrupting the Kraang. "I don't know what you're planning, but I don't like the sound of it!"

The Kraang holding the weird ball looked up and saw Leo. "Another one of those who call themselves the turtles. Kraang, go and destroy one of those who call themselves the turtles."

Leonardo gripped his katanas and prepared to jump in. But he was held back by a sudden steadying hand. Startled, the blue-masked ninja turtle turned his head and saw Raphael standing behind him, green eyes glinting with excitement.

"Let me handle them," he said to his brother. "Go save the girl."

Leonardo nodded, and dashed ahead for the bridge. Behind him, Raphael began combating two Kraangdroids that came at him. It was the earlier Kraangdroid plus a new one. The third one was still by the bridge, holding up its weird ball. Leonardo had only just reached it when the droid threw back its arm and...

_KA-BOOM!_

...threw the bomb, for that was what the ball was.

"No!" Leonardo had yelled, and the only thing he remembered afterward was that he had tried his best to leap for the girl. He believed he had made it, for his arm had hooked onto something much like a human torso. The next thing he knew, they were both skidding on the opposite bank, pushed both by his momentum and the explosion's, until they tumbled to a stop.

"Uuughh," the both of them moaned in pain.

Leonardo had to get up fast, though, because the two Kraangdroids on the opposite side; now their side; came at them quickly with their guns. "Roll!" he ordered the human girl, but he didn't stop to look if she did. Instead, he brought up his katanas to slice at the wrist of the Kraangdroid above him.

Correction: his _katana. _The second one was nowhere to be found; perhaps it had fallen in the explosion when he jumped in.

But that was no problem. Leonardo fought just as well with only one, and he proved that when he'd sliced up the Kraangdroid after getting its wrist.

He was just about to get to the second one when Mikey appeared to drop out of nowhere and got the Kraang in its chest-cockpit with the end of his nunchucks. Then, looking back to the other side, Leo found that Raphael and Donatello, who had just arrived as well, also dealt with their Kraang.

"Woohoo!" Michelangelo whooped. "Did you see that? I saved you! Haha! I jumped right in time!" As hyper as ever, he turned over to look at the fallen girl some ways away from them. "Oooh, hey, is she that girl you saved before? Did you just save her now?"

"You should've seen him!" Raphael called out from the other side of the bridge. "Jumping out to get her as the bridge collapsed; just like James Bond!"

Leonardo was blushing. "Mikey-"

But it was too late; the orange-masked turtle was crouching over the girl. And poking at her. "Uh, hey, is she alive?"

Eyes widening in alarm, Leonardo pulled Michelangelo away from her. "Mikey! Stop, that's enough!"

"I just wanted to-"

"We can't stick around," he explained slowly as if to a child. "The explosion must have alerted some of the police and nearby citizens. Also, we can't let this girl see us. Let's just leave."

"But what if she's-"

"Mikey. Not now."

Michelangelo sighed. "Fine."

The two of them leapt swiftly over the river, as if it were nothing. After joining their brothers, they were about to leave, when Donatello remembered something.

"Hey, Leo," he said, "what happened to your other sword? Did you drop it?"

Leonardo blinked several times and then looked around. "Oh yeah. I must have...when the bridge exploded..." He scanned both banks in a rushed manner but couldn't see anything. "It must have been washed away. Oh well. I can always get another one. C'mon guys, we have to leave now." He turned around to leave again, and this time he was sure it would be the final time.

"Wait...isn't this yours?"

All four turtles turned back around with a jolt. They saw the girl wading in a shallow section of the river next to some stone debris of the bridge, leggings rolled up above her ankles...hands holding up a shining wet katana sword.

Leonardo was speechless. He thought she was still unconscious. "Uh...just...throw it over here."

She did, and he caught it by the hilt as if it were nothing.

"Thanks, by the way," she said. Leonardo swore he saw her smile.

"Um...you're...welcome."

And this time, _this time, _they really did leave.

* * *

"She saw all of you!"

_WHACK!_

"You let her speak to you, all because of a sword!

_WHACK!_

"And _you _had the audacity to gawk and poke at her!"

_WHACK!_

Michelangelo was sobbing underneath the beating their sensei was giving them. "I, I," he blubbered, "I just wanted to make sure she was alive! Shouldn't this be more of _Leo's _fault!?"

"Yeah, why am I getting hit too?" Donatello lamented.

"You all have a share in the blame," Splinter stated sternly. "I have told you many times, _many _times, that you are not to reveal yourselves to humans! Do you remember what almost happened with Raphael and the man with the phone?"

"Spiderbites?" Mikey asked meekly.

Splinter ignored him. "No matter young or old, man or woman, humans will never understand you. I give an exception in April's case but I promise you it won't be as easy with others. The last thing I want is for you all to be thrown into a human jail, or put up in a human zoo!" _Whack, whack, whack, whack. _"Do you understand?"

"Hai, sensei!" They all called out.

"Very well. Go on and reflect on your actions!" Splinter finally put away his beating stick, crossing his arms behind his back after flicking out his sleeves when he was done. Without even so much as a _humph, _he strode across the dojo, opened the sliding door to his room, went in and closed it behind him.

Michelangelo slowly rose himself from the floor of the dojo. It was a hard and painstaking process, for he felt as though he were broken and bruised everywhere. The other turtles were the same; brutally battered by none other than an angry Splinter-sensei. As soon as they were able to, Mikey, Raph, and Don glared at Leo in almost perfect unison.

"Thanks a lot, _hero,_" Raphael spat.

"Yeah, thanks a lot," Michelangelo echoed.

Leonardo looked at his brothers in confusion. "How is this my fault, guys?" After a while of receiving more glares, he put up his hands in surrender and said, "Ok, so yes, I shouldn't have stopped to take back the katana. But you can't blame me for coming to her rescue! And if I remember correctly, you guys turned around right along with me."

"W-well," Mikey stuttered. He then went silent, and Leo knew for sure that he had no comeback in mind to give.

Raphael and Donatello got up to leave, ending the conversation there. Michelangelo, with nothing else to do, decided to follow their example. Leonardo stayed behind for a while and gave out a heavy sigh. They were just upset with him because Splinter-sensei decided to discipline them the violent way (about who they considered his "girlfriend"), that was all. They wouldn't stay angry for long. Not even Raph.

* * *

Four days passed since that fight. The turtle brothers hadn't returned to Central Park in that time; in fact, none of them wanted to, for fear of their sensei's wrath; and stuck to exploring and fighting in the streets and rooftops of the East Side. That way, they (especially Leonardo) felt they were safer from being sighted by humans. Or at least from that girl.

They were at Murakami-san's noodle shop at the moment, having a plate of pizza gyoza. April was with them too, although she was having a bowl of ramen instead.

"Seriously guys," she said as she watched the turtles eat, "a bowl of noodles really wouldn't hurt."

Murakami-san chuckled as he wiped the counter. "It is ok, April, they are fine. It's fun cooking for them whenever they come, anyway. I get to try new things."

April nodded, but still seemed uneasy. "Well, ok, but it never killed anybody to try different food."

"C'mon April, even _you _admitted to liking them," Donatello pointed out after gulping down a gyoza dumpling.

April blushed a little. "Yes...well...they _are _good, but...this is a noodle shop...and I really like noodles too. It's possible to have more than one favorite food at a time, you know."

"Who cares!?" Mikey practically lifted his plate and slid the remaining pizza gyoza down his throat. After chewing and swallowing, he continued, "Pizza is AWESOME!"

April facepalmed and shook her head. "Oh, you guys..."

They continued to eat in peaceful silence. The turtles ordered several more plates of Murakami's pizza gyoza, and eventually even April gave in to a few. Just as they were finishing up their food, though, a loud explosion sounded out from somewhere down the street. It surprised the turtles, April, and Murakami-san, and they all looked out the window in unison.

"D'oohh, what is it this time!?" Raphael growled ill-manneredly.

Leonardo quickly became serious and slid off his stool. "Come on, guys, let's go see what it is."

"I'll come along too," April offered.

"No, it might be the Kraang again," Donatello said, pushing her back gently. "You could get hurt. Let us handle it."

"Uh, hel-looo?" Mikey waved his hands in front of Donnie's eyes. "If _that _was the Kraang, then we need all the help we can get! It sounded huge!"

"But April-"

"It's ok, I've been training with Splinter." She offered Don a reassuring smile.

The purple-masked turtle looked uneasily from Mikey to April before noticing that Raph and Leo had already left. "Well...ok...fine. But the moment it gets dangerous, I'm taking her out!"

"Yes, great, now let's go." April pulled him on his wrist impatiently, and he was too delighted to protest.

It took them a few minutes to catch up to Leonardo and Raphael. They arrived at a fork in the street, where it was obvious the explosion had been. Two buildings had their walls collapsed inwards, the smoke still rising from the debris. April's hands covered her mouth in an expression of awe and horror, while Michelangelo's mouth was wide open in an O-shape.

"Whoaaa," he said. "Dude...what ever caused _that_...must be huge."

"It was probably a bomb of some sort," Donatello deduced. "Like the one used on that bridge in Central Park, only bigger."

Leonardo blushed at the mention of Central Park. "Um, ok. So, who set it?"

"Well, I don't know! We just arrived here and you think I can tell you right off the ba-"

"_Duck!_" A different voice shouted from above them.

_BOOM! _Another explosion.

It happened right above them. The moment they heard the word 'duck', they did so immediately, with both hands covering the backs of their necks. The noise and force of it made them duck even lower. When they saw that there was going to be no more explosions, and that the coast was clear for then, they slowly arose and looked above to see who had warned them in time.

"Holy...shell..." Michelangelo gaped.

"How!?" Raphael shouted in confusion.

Donatello shook his head slowly. "This can't be..."

Leonardo was silent. His eyes could barely register what they were seeing.

April looked at their shocked faces in bewilderment. "What? Who is it? Is it another enemy?"

"No," Leonardo explained. "It's...her..."

Long black hair, white blouse, black leggings...and a staff. It was definitely her, that girl from Central Park. She stood above them on the rooftop of one of the buildings with the collapsed walls, her staff held outwards in a slanted angle as if to block an incoming attack. It was hard to believe, but the staff _might _have blocked the bomb that detonated just seconds ago. Looking down back towards the ground, Leonardo actually started believing it was so, for there were dark shards scattered all over the sidewalk and street...but none of them where they were standing.

"What are you doing, just standing there!?" the girl yelled down at them. "They're going to fire again!"

Leo snapped back into reality, and then saw a metallic cannon-like thing appearing from behind a few buildings across the street. Two Kraangdroids were utilizing it.

_To be continued..._

* * *

And, end of chapter one! See you next chapter, folks! (Oh, and, please review ^^)


	2. Chapter 2

Just as she'd said, another bomb had been reloaded and fired. The turtles instinctively crouched to prepare to leap into action, but the girl above them made a spinning leap in the air and whacked the incoming explosive with her staff, sending the bomb flying backwards toward the Kraang and the cannon. The Kraang, alarmed, tried to escape but it was too late; the bomb hit them and exploded what was there, including several other buildings.

Everyone present thought the black haired girl was going to fall on the pavement below and...well, become a grease spot. Instead, she was able to do several somersaults then land lightly on the ground. Without a word to them, she ran toward the fallen Kraang. She spun the staff in her hand much like how Donatello would, and when she stopped...

...she was holding the hilt of a katana sword.

It was a trick that both amazed and baffled the five onlookers. First it was a staff, then a sword...? What the heck was going on?

They edged out of the alley a little farther to see what she was doing. They found that she was beginning to face three other Kraang that had immediately come up behind from the explosion. In a speedy dash, she lunged forward at one of them and sliced at it with her katana. The second one came up behind her, seeming almost to have the advantage of surprise, but was soon combusted when she simply butted its stomach with her sword's hilt and released a burst of fire.

Whirling around to face the burning Kraang, she thrust her sword forward. It elongated back into a staff-like shape but this time, there was a pointed blade at the top: a spear. The spear pierced the Kraang, making it dangle in the air when she lifted her weapon. Something like a circular tunnel of fire erupted from her hands and pushed the impaled Kraang off the spear; it fell lifeless and burning on the street.

There was only the third Kraang left. She didn't even bother to look at it behind her as she spun her spear with her hands and then brought it back down again with a much different, bigger blade at the top. Those who were familiar with Chinese weapons would recognize it as a Guan Dao.

The girl spun the Guan Dao so that her arm hooked it behind her, the blade pointing downwards and its sharp edge facing the Kraang. She still did not look behind her.

The Kraang, as always, held up its gun and released the typical pink laser fire. The girl, though, had swerved to the side, and now, _now _she was facing the Kraangdroid. She immediately brought up her Guan Dao in both hands, and with a single swipe-

-sliced the Kraang in half.

While she was busy catching her breath, the four turtle brothers and April stared at her with widened eyes. The entire ordeal had not taken up more than five minutes. And yet, it felt as though they'd been watching for an eternity. They had never seen anything stranger (ok, maybe they had, but this was the first of its kind). It wasn't until the girl spun her Guan Dao again, erasing the blade and making it into a staff once more, and leaned on it exhaustedly that they all snapped back into reality.

"That...was...AMAZING!" Michelangelo was the first to say. His fists were in the air, and he quickly came over to the girl, who turned her head both wearily and warily at him. "You've got to show me that trick! Like, how you changed all those weapons and, and-"

"Mikey!" Leonardo chided him. "Get back here."

The orange-masked turtle complied, but his face was still bright with wonderment.

The girl turned herself around so that she faced all of them, her body still leaning gently on the staff. She was sweaty all over; her sideswept bangs were clinging to her forehead and face, and her blouse seemed tightened around her waist. She still didn't say anything, though. Her eyes were busy probing over all that were present, with more than a little bit of confused scrutiny in them.

"I guess I owe you all an explanation," she finally said. Her voice was a bit soft and coarse, but she corrected it with a clearance of her throat.

"What you did back there," Raphael began. He seemed incensed. "Does that mean...you could've saved yourself all along!? We helped you for _nothing_!?"

She frowned. "Well, you never exactly gave me a chance to defend myself."

April looked from the girl and Raphael in confusion. "Um, what's going on?" she asked.

"Oh!" Donatello turned to her. "Right. See, six days ago..." And he proceeded to tell her of what happened between that girl and the Kraang, and then Splinter's subsequent discipline with Leo's interaction between her, and yada yada.

"I see," April said, growing thoughtful.

Leonardo, who had been watching the girl closely, stepped forward and held Raphael back. "Relax, Raph. Either way, we did the right thing...we couldn't have just stood by and watched."

The girl smiled. "And thank you for doing it. I owe you guys one...no, two."

Michelangelo jumped excitedly when she said that. "Then can you show me-"

Leonardo pushed him back. "Um, excuse him, he's easily excitable..."

She chuckled, and; was it just Leo, or did she seem a bit sad?; turned to walk away. "What's done is done. Good night, everybody." As she was walking off, Leonardo noticed a big but faded brown smear on the back of her shirt. He immediately remembered that time when the both of them skidded in the dirt after leaping off the exploded bridge. If anything, that smear was a result of that tumble. But that was four days ago. Why was she still wearing the same thing?

He ran after her. "Wait." His three fingered hand grasped her shoulder and turned her around. She didn't fight back, but looked at him in surprise.

"Wh-what?" she asked.

He looked her up and down. "I knew it," he mumbled to himself.

She pulled herself away. "Excuse me, I have to go..."

"Yeah, what's wrong, Leo?" Raph asked. "Unable to say goodbye to your girlfriend?"

Leonardo whirled around with a blush forming on his cheeks. "She's not my girlfriend! I don't even know her name!" he protested, and then hurriedly turned back to apologize to the girl. "Look he's...he's just joking...but I was going to ask you..."

"Ask me what?" Great. She seemed even more weirded out now.

"Well," he began to say. "You've been wearing the same clothes ever since I first saw you. You haven't been going back home, haven't you?"

That silenced the girl and elicited a gasp from April.

"Am I right?" Leonardo asked.

The girl's dark brown eyes went from him to her staff to the ground. "I...uh...well, I don't even come from New York..." She threw a glance at the others, and then quickly looked away. "I've said enough. I'm leaving."

Leonardo had a firm grasp on her arm. "No. It's clear you have nowhere to go. You've been living in Central Park. Also, you seem involved with the Kraang. We'd like to hear about that...and maybe offer you some help, as thanks for helping us back there. Hard to admit, but we probably wouldn't be alive if you didn't warn us about the bomb."

She seemed uncomfortable with his words. "I...I...I..."

April came forward, a sympathetic look on her face. "We're not going to hurt you," she said soothingly. "We just want to help. It's not so bad to accept help sometimes. You seem too tired to be going back to the Park, anyways. So...trust us." She gave the girl a smile.

The silence and tension between the four turtles, April, and fire-wielding girl was so much like confronting a deer ready to bolt that either side seemed afraid to even move. Leonardo knew the girl would have dashed off if she had wanted to...but she was too busy considering April's words. That meant they had some power, if any, over her at the moment.

"You don't even know me," she finally said.

"We didn't have to know you to save you," he pointed out.

"Then..." She was looking less wary and more relieved. "...my name is Ahnnie."

Seeing it as an invitation to introduce himself, Leonardo smiled and said, "I am Leonardo. Those three over there are my brothers..."

"Michelangelo!" Mikey called out. "But you can call me Mikey."

"Donatello," Donnie said.

Raph glared at her and Leo for a short while before grumbling out, "Raphael."

"And I'm April," April finished.

There was another short silence between them but it was obvious that the atmosphere was lighter than before.

"So," Ahnnie began. "How are you going to help me?"

Leonardo blinked and then put a hand to his head. "Oh! Right! Let's get back to Murakami-san, for one."

"Yeah, I think he'd want to know what happened," April agreed.

Ahnnie grew suspicious again. "Mura...who?"

"Oh, don't worry," April reassured her. "Mr. Murakami is a nice person. He wouldn't harm you. Well, he couldn't anyway...he's blind...come on, don't be shy."

"Yeah!" Mikey said. "And then we'll get some more pizza gyoza!"

Leonardo could tell that Ahnnie was still confused (and that Michelangelo's inference about pizza gyoza did not help at all). "Just come with us," he said to her. "We promise you won't regret it."

And so, she reluctantly stepped after them.

* * *

"Mr. Murakami!" April called out. "We've brought in an extra guest!"

"Oh!" Murakami-san turned towards the door. "So you have! Come in, come in. Have a seat."

The four turtle brothers and April filed in casually, each one taking up their previous seats. Ahnnie, however, stood back (she'd magically dismissed her staff before that, of course, astounding Michelangelo very much), one hand holding onto an arm in a gesture of uncertainty. "I...I don't have any money..."

"You don't need to," Murakami-san assured her. "If you are a friend of April's, you can having anything for free."

Ahnnie shook her head, but April started insisting, so she slowly began to pick out a stool. She ended up next to Michelangelo, about a seat away from Leonardo.

Seeing how she was still uncomfortable, Leonardo leaned over, tried his best to smile reassuringly, and said, "It's ok, you can relax here. Murakami-san is a very generous man."

"Seriously!" Raphael exclaimed. "It's not like we're gonna kill you. Geez!"

Ahnnie looked at the hot-headed ninja turtle and then back to Murakami-san. "Um...can I have a menu then?"

Despite his blindness, he seemed to know where the menus were and slid one over to her. "Choose whatever you like," he said before turning back to his cooking.

Michelangelo elbowed her gently, and whispered, "Psst! Try the pizza gyoza!"

Ahnnie frowned and started perusing the menu for pizza gyoza. "Uh...it's not on here..."

"It's something he made up for them," April explained. "Because...well...their favorite food is pizza..."

Ahnnie shook her head. "Er, no thanks then. Maybe next time." She continued looking again and then ordered, "A bowl of miso soup, please."

The turtles blinked. "That's all?" Donatello asked her.

"Yes, that's all," she affirmed.

Leonardo frowned. "But you must be hungry. Choose something more filling."

Ahnnie shook her head. "I _am _hungry. I haven't had much to eat in the past few days. But if I eat solid food too soon, I'm going to get a stomachache."

Murakami-san nodded. "That is exactly right. One bowl of miso soup, coming up." He started to fire up a pot and mix some more seasoning into it.

"Then when _can _you have proper food?" April asked.

Ahnnie looked away. "Are you sure you really want to hear?"

"Just tell us!" Raphael prompted.

She sighed. "W-well...when your urine turns clear...then you can steadily start re-introducing solid food into your diet."

They were all silent.

"Told you," Ahnnie muttered under her breath.

"What's _yoo-rin_?" Michelangelo asked.

Ahnnie looked at him incredulously. "You don't know?" But before he could shake his head, she quickly waved the matter away. "Forget it, I'll, um, tell you later."

Mikey nodded lightheartedly, obviously unaware of the stares he was receiving.

Luckily for them, Murakami-san laid a bowl of steaming hot miso soup in front of Ahnnie, changing the subject for now. "Here is your miso soup," he said with a smile.

Ahnnie's eyes brightened at the sight and smell of food. "Thank you," she breathed, and quickly took up a spoon to sip it. She blew on it gently first, and then slowly drank it in. She coughed a bit on it, but then sipped up some more. There were tears on the rim of her eyes from the biting heat. "It's really good," she said gratefully.

"I am glad that you like it," Murakami-san nodded.

She continued on sipping at it carefully until it cooled down enough for her to take in more. Eventually she put her spoon on a napkin and held up the bowl, drinking the soup and tofu until there was no more. "Aah," she sighed after her lips released the bowl, and placed it down on the counter. She placed the spoon back in the bowl and used the napkin to wipe her mouth. "That was _very _good...you are an excellent chef, Mr. Murakami."

The blind chef took away her finished bowl and hummed as he went to put it in the sink. "It was nothing. I am happy my food has made you so happy. Would you like anything else?"

"Some tea, please, and that will be all."

"Coming right up."

While she waited for him to ready a pot of tea, Leonardo leaned over again to talk with her. "So," he began. "How did you get lost in New York?"

She looked over at him, his brothers, April, and then back down at he counter. "It all began a week ago," she said. "I was with my family in Manhattan...we came to New York for a business trip. My parents' business, anyways. We were just crossing the road when a large crowd overtook us. I got stuck in it for a while, and when it cleared, I couldn't see my family anywhere. That's how I got lost."

"Pff." Raphael was stifling a laugh. "That's how?"

Ahnnie flashed him an angry look. "It's not funny! It was terrifying!"

"She's right," April agreed. "It's never a great thing when something like that happens to you..." She sighed. "I can understand where you're coming from. Both me and my dad were kidnapped by the Kraang...only I got out of it..."

Ahnnie nodded sympathetically in April's direction. "I believe you'll find him."

"But still," Raphael said. "No offense or anything, it seems hard to believe that you got lost so easily when you were able to decimate the Kraang with...with..."

"Magic?" she finished for him.

"Is that what it is?"

But Donatello interrupted him. "Hold on a moment; there's no such thing as magic. Just tricks, which I am sure she used."

Ahnnie looked at him. "Tricks?"

He shrugged. "Well, what else can there be?"

Leonardo swore he saw the corner of her mouth tug in a smile. "Ok," she said, nodding. "Tricks. That's up to you, really. Coming back to what Raph said, though...everything has a limit. Even magic. Just because you have it, doesn't mean you have everything." A pause, then, "That, and I'm very bad with directions in big cities."

The debate was ended when Murakami-san placed a pot of freshly brewed tea in front of Ahnnie, along with a small accompanying cup. She poured some for herself and, after blowing on it, carefully sipped some in. "Thank you," she said again to Murakami-san. He simply nodded and smiled, then went back to whatever he was doing.

"So, if you have nowhere to go," April started to say, "why don't you come live with me and my aunt? We can help you find your family again."

Ahnnie froze, then slowly put down her cup of tea. "That...I would appreciate that very much, but..."

"Don't worry! If I talk to her, she'll agree."

"No, it's not that." Ahnnie sipped some more of her tea. "I can't afford to be seen by people at the moment. I'm afraid that's all I can tell you for now...this place is rather inconvenient. No offense meant, Murakami-san."

"None taken," he replied.

Leonardo put two and two together in his mind before speaking. "So that's why you've been hiding out in Central Park."

"Exactly," she replied with a nod. Then, after finishing that cup of tea, she poured herself another. "Thank you for giving me a good meal. I will try to remember this place, so that I can come eat when I must."

Leonardo knew where this was going. "But you can't just go back to the Park! That's no place for someone to live."

"Yeah, and how would we be helping you if we let you go back?" Mikey added.

"But if she won't come with me and my aunt," April said, "then where...?"

Down the counter, Donatello put his fist to his palm, in a gesture of being inspired. "I see it now!" he said. "She can't be seen by people, _we _can't be seen by people..." He made a sweeping gesture with his hand at himself and his brothers. "It all makes sense! Ahnnie can stay...with us!"

Raphael choked on his drink. "What!?" He looked at Donnie. "You nuts? What would Splinter say?"

"Maybe if we tell him about her skills, he'd let her," Michelangelo suggested.

"Or maybe we'll all get disciplined again," Raphael grumbled.

Leonardo frowned, thinking for a moment. "Well," he began, "Ahnnie seems to be ok knowing that we're turtles. If we explain her situation to Splinter, then I don't think there'd be a problem with it. Besides, he wouldn't want to throw her back out on the streets."

Ahnnie was blinking, slowly realizing Donatello's point. "Yes, I see...it's clear that you can't be seen by people too much. And I can't either. It's perfect, but...you'll have to get permission from someone named Splinter?"

"He's our sensei and father," Leo explained. "He raised us and taught us everything we know."

"I see."

"You'll love their place," April added. "It might not sound so good at first, but once you get there, you'll feel right at home. I know I have."

"Well, that's wonderful," Ahnnie said. "Where is it? A warehouse? An old building?"

"No...the sewers."

* * *

April had already left to go home, as it was getting late, so it was only the turtles and Ahnnie on the way back to the lair. Of course, she had been skeptical about going down into the sewers; who wouldn't be?; but after staring at the manhole for several moments, decided to go along with it.

"At least it's better than nothing," she had said.

The walk down the sewer's corridors was for the most part, silent and uneventful, except for when Ahnnie first stepped in and the smell of the sewage got to her. She almost vomited, but willed herself to calm down and simply breathed through her mouth instead of her nose. All along the way, though, Leo could see that she'd grown pale and kept on holding her stomach as if she could keep away the nausea by doing so.

"We're almost there," Michelangelo said excitedly when they turned around another bend. "Almost...almost...almost..."

There was a light coming from around the corner. Ahnnie's pace quickened, and so did the turtles'. When they finally rounded it, they found themselves at the front entrance of the lair, also the one they took when they first came to the surface.

"And here we are!" Mikey exclaimed. "Home sweet home!" He immediately jumped over the low railing that ran across the entrance.

The other brothers followed suit, leaving Ahnnie behind the railing. She simply stepped cautiously over it, perhaps afraid to shake herself up by jumping. Once inside the threshold, she slipped her flip-flops off and padded her bare feet onto the floor of the lair.

It really was as April said. Once inside the lair, she did not have to block her sense of smell anymore; she took in a whiff of the air, and it was fresh. The lair was also rather spacious, with a large living room, a kitchen, a dining area, and a separate corridor leading to the dojo. There was another exit to the lair besides the one they'd taken, in the form a pool of sewer water.

"Whoa..." Ahnnie breathed. "It's..."

"Amazing, huh?" Mikey winked.

She nodded. "Very good, considering it's in the sewers..."

"Have a seat." The orange-masked ninja patted the couch, and she obeyed him. "Wait right here, we'll go get Splinter." And then he left.

Raphael, Leonardo, and Donatello also left her to go to the dojo, so for the moment she was alone. And quite comfortable. She stretched her arms and legs before relaxing onto the couch again. This time, her head was laid against it, and her body was slanted so that her legs were resting on the length of couch rather than hanging over. A yawn escaped from her mouth, and slowly, ever so slowly, her eyes began to close...

"Wake up, wake up, Splinter wants to see you!"

Ahnnie was being roughly shaken awake. When she looked up, she saw that it was Michelangelo. "Hold on, I'll be right there," she said sleepily. After rubbing her eyes, adjusting her hair, and smoothening out her dirty clothes, she got up to follow him to what was known as the dojo.

The dojo was a long, rectangular room covered with oriental and Persian carpets, perhaps to make up for the lack of tatami mats. Several suspended dummies stood neatly to the side, and about four different weapon racks were available to simply take and practice from. One wall was made up of the traditional rice fiber sliding door, which Ahnnie did not know about yet but stared at for a while as she walked into the carpeted dojo.

Mikey poked at her, gesturing for her to notice a large, dark brown rat humanoid in a dark red men's kimono, before going to sit with the others.

"O-oh..." Ahnnie straightened up, turned towards the rat, and gave a quick bow. "Splinter-sensei," she said, for she'd guessed him to be the Splinter that the turtles had been mentioning.

The rat nodded, and then gestured with his palm down for her to take a seat.

Ahnnie saw that all the turtles were sitting on their knees in a neat line, backs straight, two hands on their thighs. _This must be the way he trains them,_ she thought, and timidly picked her way to sit beside Leonardo. After studying his pose for a while, she presently did the same. Her eyes quickly looked up to meet Splinter's, who was now pacing back and forth along the turtles.

"You are Ahnnie," the rat said. His voice was deep and authoritative, with a slight Japanese accent. "My sons have told me about you."

Ahnnie nodded. "Yes, sensei."

"They have told me a bit about your situation," he continued. "I do commend them for their compassion and hospitality." Raphael rolled his eyes at those words. "And I, myself, am willing to extend a helping hand to you. But," he held up an index finger, "I have some more questions for you. Answer them; if not, you cannot stay."

"Sensei," Leonardo said, shocked.

"Leonardo." Splinter gave him an angry look. "I understand your concern, but we cannot become a refuge to outsiders unless we know that they can be trusted. Doing so is no different then letting in a snake into the house. She has seen you, your brothers, the lair, and me. I think it quite unfair for her to know our secrets, and yet for us to be oblivious to hers."

Ahnnie nodded. "That is a fair bargain, sensei. My secret for yours." Her eyes looked downward briefly, and then back up at Splinter. "Then, sensei, ask whatever you want to ask. If it is within my knowledge, I shall answer you."

Splinter stopped in his pacing. "What do the Kraang want with you?"

Ahnnie answered without hesitation. "That day, when Leo first rescued me, I had attacked the Kraang with my magic. It was just a small attack, because I didn't think he was a robot or alien or anything...But his true face was revealed, and well, after that I think the Kraang caught onto the fact that I had something special other humans didn't. I found some trying to look for me the next day, but it wasn't until that incident with the bridge that they revealed themselves to me. They said I was crucial their research, but if I didn't come along I would be destroyed. After Leonardo rescued me from that, I've found myself chased and hounded by them every night until tonight. That's all I know."

"Why can you not be seen by people?" Splinter next asked without hesitation. "And why did you not ask the police for assistance when you got separated from your family?"

Ahnnie froze. She clenched her hands into fists, and bit on her lower lip. "I...it is a long story..."

"If you cannot tell it, then you must go, now."

That snapped her out of it. "I-I will! I will..." She took a deep breath. "Forgive me, it's not an easy one for me to tell." The turtles were all looking at her at this point, but she seemed too distracted to notice. "Ok...so, there's this secret organization. Here, they are known as the _DAWN, _but in their home country, they are the _BAN MAI_."

"B-ah-n mai," Leonardo said slowly, trying to pronounce it.

Ahnnie nodded. "Both words mean the same thing: the point of time where the sun rises, and day begins. The _BAN MAI _are a large and powerful organization, holding power in Vietnam, their home country, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. They are basically made up of Southeastern Asian members, and though they are mainly situated down there, they can have a reach in other countries if they wished to. They invest in projects worldwide, after all.

"They mostly deal with steering Southeast Asian politics, drugs, running arms...the usual criminal activity. However, they are bigger than any mafia or yakuza group. I guess they should be if they can steer politics. So it should come to be no surprise that they've bribed out most of New York City's police; and that is why I cannot turn to them."

"So, like, they're trying to catch you?" Raphael asked.

"They follow my family wherever we go," Ahnnie replied. "They have bases in the US, too, and New York City is one, so we might more or less end up in one of their hotspots. But for now, they don't exactly know I'm lost yet. So far I've only been avoiding them, and trying to relocate my family at the same time. If they know that I'm lost, however..." She sighed. "...then they'll be on the alert. They will also contact my dad..."

"Wait, wait," Donatello said. "I'm confused. Why do the _DAWN_ follow your family? And how is contacting your father such a bad thing?"

Ahnnie was silent for a moment. Leonardo could see that this was hard for her to tell, and that she'd done a lot in telling them that much already. "It's a long story," she said at last.

"We'll have to hear it if you want to stay, though," Donatello pointed out. "You've told us this much already...you might as well tell us the rest."

"It's ok," Leonardo reassured her when she still didn't say anything. "You can trust us."

Ahnnie chucked a bit. "Well, that is true. Most of you aren't even human..." When she realized how insulting that sounded, she shook her head. "Sorry. I didn't mean that. Well, in any case, if you put it that way...I will tell you..."

"That's the spirit!" Michelangelo encouraged her.

She took another deep breath again. "It all began eleven years ago, when I was six. Perhaps even earlier...I'm not sure. But back then, my mother was a very successful businesswoman. She owned a chain of six restaurants and had a very expansive knowledge of the stocks and market. She was what the _BAN MAI _needed for their projects." Ahnnie's eyes grew distant. "But, of course, she didn't want to help them. One day, after refusing them again, she dissed one of their high-ranking members. I think he was on front-page news at the time for a case of money laundering. Well, she used that case against him and called them all criminals.

"That was their snapping point. They decided to take action, not only because they were angry, but because she'd known too much of their secrets. Like I said, they're not like any average mafia or yakuza, so they don't deal with their enemies the same way. They do it more subtly. It just so happened that at the same time they were making their plans, my mom and dad were going through a divorce."

"What's a divorce?" Michelangelo asked curiously.

"It's when a married couple no longer wants to be together, and separate," Ahnnie explained. "It is always the hardest on the children." She took in another breath. "Anyway, the _BAN MAI_ knew how scandalous a divorce is to an Asian family, since they're Asian too. There had also been tension between my mother and my two aunts, who are...were...her sisters. So...in order to catch my mother in a corner...they began to offer money to the dissenting members of my family. The catch was to have them push my mother in a situation where she wouldn't be able to use her business skills or reveal their secrets. Being family, they would be the least suspected and most trusted.

"It's impossible to think about but...but they actually accepted...both my aunts and...and even my grandmother, who was my mother's mother!" Her voice had risen in volume a bit, although she quickly fixed that with her next sentence. "Then my father, who wanted to take revenge on my mom for leaving him. I didn't know anything back then...I was just a kid...but I knew something was wrong. My mom remarried shortly after, so I got a stepdad. For some reason, though, my grandma was always telling me and my sister to accuse him of...bad things. She also told me my mother didn't really care about me, and that she met my stepdad to forget about me and my sister. My aunts were like that too, always trying to persuade us to talk to the police about accusing him of things he never did and talking bad about my mom. When my little brother was born, one of them even denied his existence."

The turtles were shocked speechless. Having been together as a family with Splinter for so long, they could hardly imagine such feuds happening amongst themselves. What was even harder to believe was that years and years of living together could suddenly end so vehemently.

"That was when the _BAN MAI _started to follow us," Ahnnie continued. "At first, they were just tracking my mom, stepdad, and little brother, because at the divorce it was decided that my sister and I would split our days between both parents, so I didn't get to follow my mother that much. But now I know, that the _BAN MAI _pursued my mom relentlessly. Her businesses started going down, her money dwindled...she moved from house to house repeatedly, and changed her phone numbers regularly." She clenched her hands into fists. "I wasn't aware of the _BAN MAI's _existence until I was twelve. I overheard my grandmother talking with someone on the phone...it wasn't pretty."

"What did you do then?" Michelangelo asked curiously.

She didn't seem to mind his question. "I made up my mind, to separate myself from that wretched part of our family. They weren't family anymore, but they were...well, I don't even know. I started staying longer and longer with my mom until I stopped seeing my dad completely and lived only with my mom. That was when I was thirteen. We'd moved out of the city where we used to live and went somewhere in the mountains in the countryside. That year was also my last time at school; there was an attempted kidnapping incident, which I think was connected to the _BAN MAI_, so after I finished for the year my mom pulled us into homeschooling. A year later, we moved again, and..."

"And?" Splinter asked gently.

"My father launched a lawsuit against my mom," she replied stonily. "He wanted to compete with her for sole custody of me and my sister. It was always known by the _BAN MAI _and those they bribed in my family that my mom really loved us...and the times she spent away from us those years ago really crushed her. So this was as much their plan as my dad's. However, they weren't able to really exert themselves over the judicial system, because that would mean giving themselves away. My mom won in the end of course, but..." She looked away. "During the entire thing, which lasted for three months, I had to watch whatever I said to my dad. A little slip up in words, even the tiniest thing, would have given him an advantage over the case. That is how it usually is in courts and the like. But that's not how it should be between family."

Leonardo felt a stab of pity for her. She was, no doubt, recalling some very painful memories.

"And so, that's why the _BAN MAI _follow us," Ahnnie finished, "and why I can't let my dad know about what's happening. Because though my mom won the lawsuit, if anything were to happen to me or my sister before we turned eighteen, he would have the right to counter the court's ruling and...take us with him." She had taken another deep breath, and her eyes were downcast. "End of story."

There was another silence, a respectful one in light of the emotions Ahnnie had just unearthed by her recounting of the past. Splinter ended it with a slight cough and a tap of his cane.

"I am sorry for asking you such a painful question," the old rat apologized. "However, it was necessary..."

"I understand," she said. "You just want to protect your sons."

He nodded. "And I thank you for understanding. If you do not mind, though, I have one last question for you."

She looked up at him curiously. "What is it, sensei?"

"During all that time," Splinter began, "where was your...your..." He was searching for the word. "...magic?"

"Um, sensei," Donatello interrupted. "There's no such thing as magic."

Raphael swatted his arm. "Not now, Mr. Science!"

Ahnnie tried to ignore them. "I discovered my magic when I was six," she answered. "It was just pure imagination until...well, it became real. I'm not sure how to say it so that you can understand. If anything, it's _because _it was imagination that it became real...no, wait, that's not very helpful either..." She shook her head. "Anyway, it had always been there for me but, as I quickly learned, it was more of a means than an end." She sighed. "Magic or no magic, when people are determined to do something, like how the _BAN MAI _are so determined to see my mother fail...they can still survive."

"Do your parents know about it?" Leonardo asked her.

"No," she replied honestly. "No one but my siblings. They're magical, too, by the way."

"Ooh, ooh!" Mikey leaned over to look at her. "I have an idea then! Why don't you, like, send a magic signal into the sky so your brother and sister can see it, and then they can find you and take you home?"

All eyes turned on him.

"Could you be any more of an idiot?" Raphael asked him sarcastically.

He seemed a little hurt by Raph's comment. "But...it makes sense...doesn't it?"

Ahnnie smiled gently at him. "Of course it makes sense, Mikey. Thank you for bringing it up. But, if it were that easy, I would have found my family again. First of all, for there to be a signal like that, it would have to be big enough for the entire city to see. That would not only take up too much energy, but give something of my secret away to everybody...and you know how viral it can get if it's caught on tape."

"Do _I _know," Raphael muttered, remembering his incident with Spiderbites.

Splinter had been listening quietly to their talk, and when he decided it had gone on long enough, he cleared his throat again and said, "That is enough for tonight. Ahnnie, you may go and get your rest. The rest of you do the same."

"Does that mean Ahnnie can stay?" Michelangelo asked hopefully.

Splinter stared at him for a long while. "Yes, Michelangelo," he said slowly, "she can stay."

"Yeah!" Mikey whooped.

"Ahem," Splinter cleared his throat, and Michelangelo sat back down.

"I mean, hai, sensei," Mikey corrected himself.

"Hai, sensei," the others repeated respectfully..

"Hi?" Ahnnie asked, confused. "Why are you saying hi to him?"

"It means 'yes' in Japanese," Leonardo explained. "Kind of in the way 'yes ma'am' or 'yes sir' would be used."

"Oh." She started to try it herself. "Hai, sensei. Did I do it right?"

Splinter chuckled. "Yes, you did. Now go. I know how tired you are."

"Thank you, sensei," Ahnnie said, and with a bow when she stood up, left with the turtle brothers to the living room.

* * *

"...and here's the bathroom," Leonardo said as he finished giving Ahnnie a tour of the turtle lair. "Thanks to the clean water system Donnie installed, we also have a shower."

"That Mikey doesn't really use," Raphael added.

Michelangelo looked up angrily. "Hey! I heard that!"

"Thanks," Ahnnie said to Leo, laughing a bit at Raph and Mikey's argument. "I should use it soon. I hate to admit it, but I must really stink from wearing the same thing for seven days."

Leonardo shrugged. "Oh no, you're fine. It's not bothering any of us."

"But what will you change into?" Michelangelo asked.

Ahnnie rubbed the back of her neck thoughtfully. "Hmm...that is a hard question...I don't have any of my stuff here. It would mean something if I still had my purse but my stepdad was holding it for me when we were crossing the street that time..." She looked up, suddenly inspired. "Wait a second. Do you guys have anything like a bag or a purse?"

Raphael scoffed. "Um, hello? What do you take us for? Fashion models?"

"Even an old shopping bag will do," Ahnnie insisted.

Donatello tapped his chin thoughtfully, nodding all the while. "Hmm...no...wait..." He looked back in the direction of his lab. "I think I might have something. I'll go get it!" He promptly headed for it then, going at a loping jog.

"How would a bag help?" Mikey asked. "Your stuff's not going to be in there."

"You'll see," she assured him.

When Donatello came back out, he was holding a tattered backpack in his right hand. "Here! Will this do?"

Ahnnie took it from him gratefully. "Thanks!" Then, she carried it over to the middle of the living room, where she knelt down while rifling through it. The turtle brothers, curious, came over to watch.

"What are you doing?" Raphael asked, observing her with a cocked eyebrow.

"My purse had an expansion spell that gave it bigger dimensions," Ahnnie explained. "The extra dimension has a portal link in it, so if I ever lose my purse, I can try to access it through something like a bag, which is why I asked for one. If I do this correctly, I should be able to get to my emergency supplies and maybe even the pockets of my own purse."

Donatello huffed in exasperation and crossed his arms. "That's impossible. The backpack is empty, there's no way you can just reach in and-"

The entire backpack suddenly started glowing and sparkling with a lavender-ish sort of light. When it faded, there was a big smile on Ahnnie's face. "I did it!" She took out her hand, and it emerged holding a set of folded dark gray clothing.

The brothers, Mikey especially, leaned in curiously with obvious looks of shock on their faces.

"Whoaaa!" Michelangelo gasped. "Can I look?"

Ahnnie opened the backpack up for him to see.

"Holy shell!" Mikey exclaimed. "It's...it's so big down there! Ooh, hey, are those eye guards?"

"What?" Ahnnie asked confusedly, and looked into the backpack.

"Those there," Michelangelo pointed.

Ahnnie quickly snatched it away from him then, and zipped up the bag. "Er, that should be enough for now." She got up, taking the backpack with her. "Well, I'm going to freshen myself up. See you." She speed-walked away from them, heading towards the bathroom.

When she was out of earshot, Raphael turned towards Michelangelo. "Eye guards? There's no such thing."

"But I saw it," he insisted. "It was like these double-padded things with straps...like double eye patches."

Donatello tilted his head in thought, but shook it a while later. "No, doesn't ring a bell."

Leonardo shrugged. "Maybe she'll tell us later. Let's just forget about it now and-"

"-EAT PIZZA!" Michelangelo cut in, and raced for the kitchen.

* * *

Ahnnie emerged from the bathroom with sleekly combed wet hair, wearing a dark gray T-shit and similarly colored sweatpants that cinched a bit above her ankles. Her old clothes were stuffed away in a compartment of the backpack Donatello gave her, and she was carrying it out with her as she made her way to the living room. She presently plopped down next to Leonardo, who was watching Space Heroes.

The bathroom was, she was surprised to find, quite clean for one situated in the sewers; oh, and, used by four teenage turtles day in day out. It was probably the most decent bathroom in all of New York City. The shower was also pretty spacious, obviously built to accommodate the turtles and their shells (but, it was a tad too big for Ahnnie). However, there was a lack of shampoo and body wash. A single bar of soap was the only thing in there. Luckily for her, Ahnnie had stocked some shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in her emergency supplies, so she hoped the turtles didn't mind that she brought them out and placed them in the shower for her convenience.

Then, after drying herself (with her own towel), dressing up, combing her hair, and all that jazz, she went to brush her teeth. It was a pleasant surprise to know that the turtles brushed their teeth as well, and even had a tube of their own toothpaste. Ahnnie guessed the toothpaste was given to them by April, because it looked new and, well, not like anything that came from the sewers.

_I really do feel at home here, _Ahnnie thought.

"Welcome back," Raphael greeted her from behind the couch, where he was resting in a hammock and reading a magazine.

"I feel so much better now," Ahnnie remarked as she relaxed into the couch, dropping the backpack at her feet. "So nice and clean. I really hate feeling dirty." She gave out a relaxed sigh, and closed her eyes.

Leonardo only noticed her when the show ended. "Oh, Ahnnie! You got out?"

"She was here for a while now, hero boy," Raphael jabbed.

"Hmm?" She woke up, and looked around. "Hey, Leo."

Leonardo had flashed Raphael an angry look before turning back to Ahnnie. "Ahem, well...are you-"

"-hungry for some pizza?" Michelangelo cut in from behind them, presenting her a plate of pizza.

She looked at it warily. "Oh thank you, but I'm good for now." A yawn escaped from her, and she held up a hand to cover it.

Mikey slid away, still looking cheerful. "Ok, more for me then!"

When he left, Leonardo switched the channel, looking for something more interesting. Space Heroes would not be on again until later at night, so he would have to watch something else. Then, remembering their guest, he turned to Ahnnie and asked, "What do you like to watch?"

"Hmm?" She had not been paying attention until he nudged her. "Oh, TV? Cool, you guys have TV?"

"You can thank me for it," Donatello called out from the kitchen.

Leonardo nodded. "Yeah. Lots of channels. You want to pick?" He held out the remote to her.

Ahnnie looked at it for a while, but did not reach out to take it. "You can choose," she said at last. "I'm afraid my taste might be a little boring for you. I'll watch with you, though. I'm still waiting for my hair to dry, so I won't be sleeping just yet."

"Are you sure?" he asked her.

"Yes," she nodded.

"What _is _your taste though?" Raphael asked, flipping another magazine page. "Old school? Soap operas?"

She made a face. "Um, no."

"Then what is it?" the red-masked turtle asked impatiently.

"...Food Network."

There was the sound of hysterical laughter, and then a thud as Raphael rolled out of his hammock. "Ahahaha!" he laughed. "Food Network? That...that is just...so..."

Ahnnie rolled her eyes. "Told you."

Leonardo looked back at him and gave him an angry glance. "Cut it, Raph. That's not very considerate."

"But...but...Food Network...!"

"It's because I like to cook," the magician girl protested.

"You know what?" Leo started picking through the channels again. "I'm going to put it on."

"What?" both Ahnnie and Raphael asked in shocked unison.

"Um, you don't have to," Ahnnie assured him.

But it was too late. And when Food Network was tuned in...

"Iron Chef America!" Ahnnie was instantly hooked. "You...you got in at the right moment! I love that show!"

Leonardo gave her a smile. "Well, you are our guest, and the host has to consider the guest's feelings." He said with a pointed emphasis at Raphael.

The theme was still going on, and Ahnnie was watching it intently. "I wonder what battle is going on tonight. They always have different ingredients," she explained, "and sometimes they can be unlikely, so it's really exciting to see how the competing chefs prepare it."

Raphael groaned in disgust, but said nothing further.

On the show, Mark Dacascos was giving the usual introduction with his gymnastic back flipping and dramatic lines. Then, it came to the part where he was unveiling the secret ingredient.

"And the ingredient for tonight," he began to say, "is..." _Fwoosh! _The white tablecloth was pulled away. "...turtles!"

Turtles, all freshly dead, were presented for everyone to see.

"Let us see how our chefs do with these unlikely delicacies!" Mark Dacascos just had to say.

"Now, this will be a challenge for those who have no experience in cleaning turles," Alton Brown was commenting. "The most common way is to remove the head and then hang it upside down so that it bleeds out. These turtles have already been bled so for our chefs, they would have to boil and then cut the meat..."

"Uh..." Ahnnie flushed in embarrassment, and took the remote away from Leonardo. "Never mind, I think my hair is dry enough already." She switched it to a different channel and then gave the remote back to him. But he was still staring at the screen with a shocked look on his face, and even Raphael had grown silent.

* * *

Leonardo switched off the TV. It had grown late now, and he was getting tired. Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo had all retreated to their bunks already. There was no reason why Leonardo shouldn't.

Just as he was getting off the couch, he caught sight of Ahnnie lying asleep on it with both hands underneath her head. Her hair wasn't exactly dry yet but still she slept, and slept soundly. Leonardo was surprised that she'd been able to slumber through his TV watching, but he supposed she was much more tired than they'd expected. After all, living out in a Park and being chased by Kraang every night for seven days could really beat the energy out of you.

_She looks peaceful now, _he thought. Peaceful, and vulnerable. Anything could happen to her right now, and she wouldn't even notice. Hard to imagine, considering the fighting skills she pulled off hours earlier.

"Mmmngh." Ahnnie moaned, and rolled onto her back, turning her head so that her face was hidden in the couch. One hand lay on her stomach, the other was laid straight down by her side.

Leonardo smiled, happy to know that they were able to offer her comfortable shelter in her time of need. But something was missing. Something essential. What was it?

_That's right. A blanket. _

He certainly knew he couldn't sleep without one. So why wouldn't Ahnnie? He immediately went through a closet of extra supplies, and pulled out a sizable blanket he thought would be comfy enough. Then, bringing out to the living room, he draped it carefully over Ahnnie's sleeping form. She smiled in her sleep and pulled the blanket closer around her.

"Well, have a good night," Leonardo whispered to her before tip-toeing away.

* * *

**End of chapter. Please review :)!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Rise and shiiine~!" It was morning, and Michelangelo discovered Ahnnie sleeping on the couch. The brothers had already risen and were just about to eat breakfast with Splinter. However, their guest wasn't ready yet. And so, to wake her up, Mikey pulled the blanket right off of her.

She squinted her already closed eyes and turned over, hiding her face. "No...please...five more minutes..."

"C'mon, sleepyhead! Everyone's waiting!"

She refused to respond.

Mikey put a hand to her shoulder, and shook her. "I made your favorite...pancakes!"

From the table, Leonardo sought to dissuade his little brother. "It's ok, Mikey, just leave her alone. She's probably still exhausted from last night. Give her some time, I'm sure she'll wake up soon."

"And how do you know she likes pancakes?" Raphael added.

Splinter shook his head. "In short, Michelangelo, leave her be."

The orange-masked ninja, obeying both Splinter and Leo, shrugged and put the blanket back over her. "Ok. Sorry about that," he apologized to her.

But she wasn't listening; she had already fallen back asleep.

* * *

"Get back here, you!"

"Waha! Can't catch me!"

Raphael crouched, waiting for the right moment. "You're gonna regret it, Mikey," he mumbled.

Then, as Michelangelo rounded the corner near the couch, he leapt out and tackled his little brother down.

"Whoaa!" Mikey screamed as he toppled over.

"Hahaha," Raph cackled, and they started to wrestle.

They both bumped into the couch once.

"Stop it," Ahnnie mumbled from under her blanket. She was still asleep, and it was already noon.

The two fighting turtles ended up rolling over to the middle of the living room, where Raphael gave Michelangelo a wet willy. "Daaaah!" Mikey yelled. "Dude, seriously!"

"Give me back my magazine, and I'll stop," Raphael promised mischievously.

Mikey took advantage of the break in words and slid out of Raphael's grasp. "How do you know I have it?" he countered. He started to run when Raph lunged at him. "Whoo! Can't catch me!"

Raphael bumped into the couch again, the second time.

"_Stop_," Ahnnie mumbled with a pointed emphasis.

The red-masked turtle growled and jumped over the couch. "This time, Mikey, _this time, _you are dead!"

Michelangelo, who had been running out of the living room, now found himself face-to-face with his brother. "Aw, man!" He quickly sidestepped, though, making Raph fall as he missed him. "Haha, missed me!"

Raphael got back up even more determined. "Oh yeah? You think you're so great?"

"Well, I think it's you who thinks he's so-"

While he was talking, Raphael swiped out a leg and tripped his little brother. The momentum sent him backwards and, inevitably, falling over the couch...

...right on top of Ahnnie. Shell-down.

"HEY!" She pushed him off with sudden ferocity, covering him with the blanket.

Michelangelo fell on his stomach. "I'm sorry?" he apologized weakly from underneath the covers.

"Well," Raphael remarked, "look who's awake. Took you a while, huh?"

Ahnnie sat up groggily, her hair in a bedhead mess and her eyes not completely open yet. Without a word, she pushed off and stumbled sleepily into the bathroom. Raphael, shrugging, went over to uncover the blanket off of Michelangelo. They continued in their roughhousing even when Ahnnie reentered, this time looking much fresher, neater, and more awake than she had previously.

Oh, and, much more horrified.

Her eyes were scanning the entire living room, which was littered with empty pizza boxes, crumpled napkins, crushed soda cans...in other words: trash. Raphael and Michelangelo, in their play, rolled onto a pizza box that had one last slice in it, making the slice smear onto the floor. Donatello and Leonardo were locked in some kind of video game combat at the TV, and when Donnie swerved his shell bumped into his drink and spilled it.

"It's a mess!" Ahnnie screamed, and immediately caught the attention of the turtles.

"Oh, for a moment, I thought you were April," Mikey remarked.

"What's a mess?" Raph asked her, getting up from the ground.

She came into the living room, her bare feet picking their way cautiously over the trash, and arms crossed in displeasure. "I can't believe I didn't see this on my way to the bathroom! This place was perfectly clean when I came in the other night! Don't you have a trash can? And...wait a moment...you guys ate all this _pizza_!? I know pizza's good but too much is...well...too much! Oh, and Donatello, your drink spilled. You should clean that up before ants or other bugs get to it!"

Leo and Donnie, after having heard the scolding tone of her voice, paused their game and looked sheepishly at the trashed living room.

"We were having lunch," Mikey explained.

"More like a tornado blew through while you were having lunch!" Ahnnie snapped. She began to bend down and pick up the pizza boxes, filling them up with the napkins and cans as she did so. "Do you have any trash bags? The bigger the better."

Raphael cut in angrily. "Wait a minute. Who do you think you are? You're a guest here, not new management!"

Ahnnie glared up at him. "I was just asking a question. Now please tell me: do you have any trash bags?"

"Kitchen drawers, second to the right," Michelangelo provided.

With a huff, she went there, and came back out with a big white trash bag partially filled by the stuff she picked up. She also had a roll of paper towel and bottle of cleaning spray.

"Oh, you don't have to do all that," Leonardo assured her.

"No, I don't," she agreed. She threw him the roll of paper towel. "You're going to help me."

Leo looked from the paper towel to Ahnnie, and back. Eventually Donatello took a few sheets from him to wipe the drink spill, snapping him out of it. "All right," he sighed, and began to help her pick up the trash.

She placed the trash bag in the middle of the living room. "Just dump whatever you have into the bag. It'd be faster if you put the smaller pieces into the boxes."

"Um, does that mean I have to help too?" Michelangelo asked.

Ahnnie turned around, looking rather angry. "Yes, Mikey, you do. This is all yours, after all." Then she left to pick up some more trash.

Michelangelo reluctantly jumped in to help, but he was distracted a moment later by the smeared pizza on the floor. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "That is a waste of perfectly good pizza!"

"And no, you're not eating it," Ahnnie said.

"Awww..."

Raphael looked incredulously at his brothers. "You guys can't be serious! We're just going to let a guest order us around!?"

At the same moment (oh, it just had to be), Splinter came into the scene. "What is the problem, boys?" he asked them. "I heard Ahnnie yelling." When he saw the scene before him, he was shocked. "Cleaning after your mess so soon? I am surprised." He also caught sight of Raphael standing there, doing nothing, and looking angry. "Raphael, why are you not helping?"

"Sensei, we don't have to do this right now," he protested. "We always clean up later. What's the big deal?"

Splinter's ear twitched. "Later, hmm? Sometimes I feel that 'later' translates as 'twenty-four hours later' to you."

"C'mon, sensei, we don't leave it out that long!"

"Any longer than two hours is long enough," the old rat countered. "Go and help your brothers."

"But-"

"Now."

Raphael sighed, grumbling as he went to the living room. "Can't believe we have to listen to some _girl,_" he was saying. He started angrily picking up the trash, muttering as he went.

Splinter looked pleased, though, and continued looking over them as they worked. Though Raphael had been complaining about it, the entire mess was cleaned up in less than ten minutes, since five people were working at it. When satisfied with the result, their sensei left back into his room at the dojo.

"There," Ahnnie said as they finished. "That wasn't so hard, was it? Now you can go back to whatever you were doing." She took up the trash bag and carried it over to the kitchen. "Hey, where do you dump your trash?"

"I have an incinerator," Donatello offered, going after her to take the bag away. "I'll go put it there."

"Thanks," Ahnnie said, and then headed back to the living room to fold her blanket. There was a slight pause when she finished folding it. "Hmm..." She looked up, turning her head left and right in search of a place to put the blanket. "Does someone know where this blanket is supposed to go?" _Come to think of it, _she thought, _I don't even know how I got it in the first place..._

_Maybe it was Splinter-sensei. He sure is a nice guy._

"Oh, I saw that in one of our supplies closets," Mikey said. "How'd it get there?" He shrugged. "Whatever. Just come with me, I'll show you where to put it."

"Thank you, Mikey." And she went after him, with the other turtle brothers' eyes on her as she left.

Donnie, who had just come back from dumping the trash in his incinerator, crossed his arms and tapped his chin. "I forgot the right expression that's supposed to go along with is. What is it that they say on TV?"

Leonardo looked at him. "What are you talking about?"

Raphael turned away after having glared at Ahnnie's receding form for some time. "It feels like we have a mom now," he grumbled.

Donatello snapped his fingers. "That's it! 'When did she become our mother?' That's the right one!"

"It's so weird," Raph continued. "And she keeps saying 'thank you' every time we do something...I'm kind of glad we didn't have a mom all those years."

"Maybe it's not as bad as we think," Leo said. "But it was a little sudden." His mind was torn; he agreed with his brothers, but then again he was a little ashamed that Ahnnie had to point the mess out for them. Teenagers will be teenagers, though, and he turned to Donatello and said, "We haven't finished the game yet. C'mon, let's settle the score."

Donatello hopped right in. Raphael gave a smirk from behind him and said, "Watch out for mom...she might get you for playing too much video games!"

"You have a mother?"

Raphael jolted in surprise, and whirled around to find Ahnnie and Mikey standing behind him. Mikey giggled a little and then went back to the living room.

"Hmm!? 'Course we do. How else did we get here?" Raph was startled, but still composed enough to make snappy remarks.

"Well, where is she?"

"She's not here, _duh,_" Raph said. "I was just saying. You got a problem with it or something?"

She simply smiled at him. Then she turned around to get her new backpack.

_I must have hit it off on the wrong foot with them, _Ahnnie thought as she sat down and went through the backpack. Mikey's cheering and the sound effects of Leo and Don's video game played on as she searched. In truth, she had heard everything Raphael, Leonardo, and Donatello said...Michelangelo too, but she made him promise to keep quiet about it. Leo seemed neutral although Ahnnie did have to acknowledge the troubled look in his eyes when she made him clean up.

_I did something wrong, _she concluded. _But the room...it was such a mess...I couldn't help it! Arrgh..._

Turning back to her backpack searching, though, she began to tally up: _Ok, well, I got all my emergency supplies, which includes the extra clothes, rations, tools, books etc. The emergency money I've been saving up in there is approximately one hundred seventeen dollars and eighty-nine cents...I was also able to get in a little to my own purse. I think it was right here...that's right! Hey, if my phone is still in there, I can-_

But when she reached in to said compartment, there was nothing.

_-dang. My parents took the phone out. _She tried reaching in farther into her purse's portal, but it seemed her hand wouldn't fit any further in. She gave an exasperated sigh and then closed up the backpack. "It's ok," she reassured herself. "I still have enough to survive." _I was offered shelter, and that is one of the three necessary things for survival: food, water, shelter. _She then gave a sweeping look over the living room, regarding each of the turtles in turn as she did so. _But can I stay like this forever? Feeding off their goodwill? _

Just as she thought so, her stomach let out a loud growl that could virtually be heard by those in the living room.

Leo and Donnie had finished the level, so they were free to turn around and look. Raphael, who had gone to practice on a dummy, laughed where he stood.

"Someone's hungry!" the red-masked turtle remarked.

Ahnnie shyly slid the backpack down, then looking downwards so that her face was hidden in her hair. "Uh...I...I guess I am..."

Michelangelo leapt up. "No problem! I have plenty of food for you! Come on!" He proceeded to grab her by the wrist and drag her into the kitchen. Once there, he made her sit at the table. "What would you like for breakfast? Or lunch? Or..."

"I can have anything," Ahnnie reassured him.

Raphael smirked. "Anything?"

Ahnnie looked at him strangely. "What's with the way you said it?"

"Oh, nothing..." He threw another kick at the dummy. "Just that Mikey makes a lot of...unusual things."

Michelangelo was pouring some water into a cup and giving it to Ahnnie. "Here, have a drink while you wait." Then he started to browse the fridge. "Hmm...hey, Ahnnie?"

"Yes?" She took a sip of water.

"Is your urine clear yet?"

She choked and spit the water out.

"Aww, Mikey!" the turtle brothers groaned.

"What a way to gross someone out!" Raph remarked.

Michelangelo got up and pouted at his brothers. "But she said she couldn't have food if her urine isn't-"

Leonardo held up two hands, gesturing for Mikey to stop. "Yes, Mikey, we know."

Mikey was growing impatient. "What is urine anyway? C'mon, guys, I feel like someone's holding up a joke against me."

"You really want to know?" Donatello asked.

"Yes!" Michelangelo practically yelled.

Raphael turned around, crossed his arms, and said frankly, "It's pee, Mikey. Urine is pee."

"..."

"Hey, you just _had _to ask!"

By this time, Ahnnie had buried her head in her hands, too embarrassed (and amused) to look up. Her shoulders were shaking slightly, but in laughter, not weeping. _Oh my god, _she thought, _Michelangelo is just TOO innocent. Why'd I have to tell them that, anyway? _Even when Mikey started shaking her, begging for her to look up, she did not budge. Not until she felt the rouge subside on her cheeks.

_What is it this time? _she thought, blinking warily at the orange-masked turtle. _Huh? Is that a cake?_

"Ta-da!" Michelangelo sang. He was holding a reddish-yellow cake on a platter. "Get ready to have your mind blown away!"

"Wh-what is it?" Ahnnie asked.

Raphael shook his head. "Oh boy..."

"Pizza Cake!" He flashed her a toothy smile.

She was speechless, the emotion taken right out of her just by the sight of the cake. "What's the frosting made out of?" she asked slowly.

"I made it out of _fresh, homemade _tomato sauce," Mikey boasted. "With bits of cheese and..." He looked around conspiringly, then whispered in her ear: "...sugar!"

Ahnnie had never felt so nauseous in her life.

"It has pepperoni on the inside," Michelangelo went on, "and-"

"It's ok!" she interrupted him. "I think I have a general idea! Um, look, Mikey, thank you for the cake...but it's just not good to have cake for breakfast. You know? Health-wise?"

Michelangelo put the cake down. "I guess so." Then he got an idea. "I know!" He went to the stove, where there was a big pot. He brought the pot over to her. "Pizza noodle soup!"

His brothers all groaned and facepalmed; Ahnnie stayed silent and smiling, for Mikey's sake.

"It's always a good thing to have when you're sick, right?" Michelangelo said. "So that must mean it's healthy. Here, have some!" He scooped some out on a wooden spoon, and held it toward her mouth.

"Uh, I can feed myself," Ahnnie said, leaning away from the spoon. "And maybe you should give it to me in a bowl...not the whole pot..."

Michelangelo laughed at himself. "Oh, right." He turned back to the stove, got out a bowl, and poured out a sizable helping. Then in the microwave it went, for about a minute and a half, and a minute and a half later, it was served to Ahnnie with a nice little spoon. "Enjoy!" Mikey winked, then plopped into the seat right next to her to watch her every move.

Ahnnie looked from Mikey to the soup and back. "Thank you," she said, and started to pick up the spoon. The other turtles had stopped in what they were doing to watch her, waiting to see her reaction. She'd noticed this and looked up at them briefly before turning back to the soup. With a mental gulp, she slowly scooped some soup and noodles into it...brought it up to her mouth...blew on it...took a sip and a chew...

"This is really good!" she exclaimed. "Thanks, Mikey!" And she was telling the truth.

Michelangelo smiled. "You're welcome," he said, with a pointed glare at his brothers. "At least _someone _appreciates my cooking!"

Raphael shivered. "Whatever. I'm just glad that wasn't me."

"Hey!"

And that was how Ahnnie's day with the turtles began.

* * *

Training time. April had come down to the dojo, so she and Splinter were off in a corner to themselves. Raph, Donnie, Mikey, and Leo were on their own doing warmups and forms and...well, general training stuff.

Ahnnie was there too, except she was just sitting cross-legged on the floor, meditating beneath the tree.

Yes, folks, the tree.

When Ahnnie walked into the dojo for the second time, she noticed a large tree at the end of the room with more than a little pleasure. Why is there a tree growing underground, in the sewers, you ask? While there is no answer to that question, it is quite possible to see that a grate above the tree let in sunlight, and a perfectly square cobblestone frame was built around it, so the place was constructed, in a way, to support the tree.

Ahnnie, saying that the tree was so far the only other connection to nature besides Central Park, declared that she would like to sit beneath it a while and just relax while the others trained. That showed the turtles just how estranged the girl was with urban places. That would have been fine, too, if Raphael weren't so bothered with her doing nothing while they were hard at training.

"C'mon, didn't you just sleep til noon today!?" the red-masked turtle yelled for the third time.

Ahnnie opened her eyes again, looking very frustrated. "I can't concentrate with you yelling at me."

"What're you concentrating on? Falling back asleep?"

Splinter turned to look at Raphael. "Is that what you think I'm doing when I'm meditating?"

"Erm..." Raph looked down. "No, sensei."

"Then you can let me do it in peace," Ahnnie said, closing her eyes again. After a while of deep breathing, her hands began to glow in a golden, sparkling light...

"Whoa, shiny!" Michelangelo exclaimed, interrupting Ahnnie...again.

The magician girl huffed and put her face down in her hands. "Aagh...I can't do it...just when I was getting into it..."

Mikey jerked back, looking more than a little hurt. "Um, sorry..."

"It's ok."

"Focus, Michelangelo," Splinter scolded from across the room.

The orange-masked turtle immediately went back to the warmups he was doing. "What were you trying to do anyway?"

Ahnnie shrugged, coming up to her feet. "Just meditating. The light happens when you're a magician." She sighed, and looked down at her own hands. _I think I'll have to do this somewhere quieter._ She looked up and around. _The living room will do. _After flexing her arms, she started to walk out of the dojo, but...

"Hey!" Raphael called out. "It's time for sparring! You wanna show us what you're made of?"

Ahnnie turned back around. "Excuse me?"

"It's his way of saying, 'you want to spar with us?'" Donatello explained.

Mikey jumped up excitedly. "Ooh, ooh! Show us those weapons again, and how you changed them, and all that fire, and, and-"

"She gets it, Mikey," Leonardo said, holding out a hand to stop him. Turning to Ahnnie, he said, "You don't have to if you don't want to."

Ahnnie grew thoughtful. "Hmm..."

"Chickening out?" Raphael jabbed.

She ignored him. "It _has _been a while since I sparred with anyone..."

Donatello cut in. "But it's going to be very, _very _unfair if you start using your...well, weapons, and fire. Because, as I think you know by now: we can't do those things."

Ahnnie laughed. "What? You thought I was going to use my magic? No, no, I'm not crazy!"

Michelangelo sagged down disappointedly. "Awww..."

She looked at him apologetically. "I can fight with just normal hand-to-hand combat, to make it fair. If you want to throw in a few staffs or wooden swords, it'd be fine too." But before either of the brothers could agree or disagree, she got an idea. "Wait! I have something even better!"

"What?" All four of them started crowding around her.

She was slightly taken aback by their sudden interest, but continued anyway. "See, there's this game that I like to play with my siblings and friends."

"You have friends?" Michelangelo asked.

She looked at him. "Yes...Mikey...I do. Just because the _BAN MAI _make my life difficult doesn't mean I don't have friends. They are just unlikely, that's all. Anyway, back to what I was saying. This game is much like sparring; however, the objectives are different. You have to keep yourself from being touched, and if your opponent manages to get you once, you lose. But since you're all new to it, I'll give an exception of three times."

"So, like, we dodge each other?" Raphael asked.

Ahnnie nodded. "No weapons, just hands and feet," she added.

"Sounds like a cool game," Leonardo remarked. "How should we do it? All against one? Every man for himself? Competition?"

"How about one-on-one?" Mikey suggested.

"But who against who?" Donatello asked.

Raphael stepped forward. "I'll go against her!" he declared.

Leonardo was shocked. "Whoa, easy...you'll go all out. Which isn't something we need right now."

"Yeah, man," Mikey added. "She's a girl! Show some respect."

Ahnnie crossed her arms. "Are you saying I can't take on Raph?"

Leonardo came over to her, and tried to say coaxingly, "Er, that's not what we mean, but Raphael has a temper; as you probably know by now; and it just wouldn't be good if-"

Splinter strode into the middle of their circle. "Ahnnie versus Michelangelo, no more objections."

The turtles and magician were startled, and quickly stood as straight and tall as they could. "Hai, sensei," they all said.

"But why Mikey? If I may ask, sensei?" Donatello quickly added.

"You are afraid of her getting hurt, are you not?" Splinter reasoned. "And you haven't even tried the game out yet; how do you know you'll like it? So Michelangelo it is."

Ahnnie blinked, still not knowing how that made any sense, but nodded anyway. "Hai, sensei." She then started heading to the middle of the dojo with Mikey.

April had come up from behind the old rat, and she was looking excitedly at the group. "Splinter let me have a break," she explained when the turtles looked at her. "He said I could watch with you guys."

The turtles started to move off to sit on the carpeted floor of the dojo. Once settled, they went in order from left-to-right, from Leonardo, to Raphael, and finally Donatello.

"Sit next to me," Donatello offered April as he and his brothers were sitting down to watch. They had cleared off to the side so that only Ahnnie and Michelangelo stood in the center, facing each other approximately five feet apart, with Splinter in between them as the referee. Raphael seemed a little disgruntled that it hadn't been him to face off against their guest, but kept quiet enough for everyone to concentrate on the upcoming game.

The tension in the air was imminent. It froze the two combatants in a long staring contest that didn't seem like it would end. If there was any discomfort, they did not show it; their faces were still, like unmoving stones. The audience, meanwhile, did not know what would happen, and therefore were anticipating for even the slightest movement to begin. Splinter seemed to be the only patient being in all the dojo; he took his time looking from Ahnnie to Michelangelo, hands behind his back, brows furrowed.

Then, when they couldn't wait any longer...

"Hajime!" he called out.

Even though Ahnnie did not understand what _ha-jee-may _meant, she took it to be a beginning mark, much like a gunshot or "Go!". So she immediately raced forward, heading towards Michelangelo like a torpedo through the air.

Michelangelo jumped, dodging and avoiding her swiping hand before it could connect with his leg. He'd seen her turn sharply around to get back at him, and so dodged to the side. She turned back faster than he thought, her hand aiming out for his shoulder. He hadn't the time to think of reaching out to touch her when said hand jabbed forward too fast and Mikey practically bent backward in a 180 degree angle to avoid it.

"Whoa!" He did a backflip and steadied his balance. He saw her coming for him again, and crouched down to prepare for a side-veer that would put him to her back. That was what he did, but she'd turned as soon as he came behind her and tried to get at him by pushing her leg towards his face.

He swerved his head to the side, and was about to move it to the other side, when he saw her jump. He didn't see her afterward, for she was going right above him, but by the time he looked up, it was too late; she'd touched his shell, having used it to propel herself in a somersaulting jump that brought her down a few paces behind him. "One," she called out, marking down the amount of times she'd touched him.

Donatello started clapping. "This game is awesome!" he exclaimed.

"Heh," Raphael smirked. "Just you wait; you won't be so lucky with me!"

Ahnnie looked at each of them amusingly, her eye suddenly catching onto Leonardo's. They exchanged their glance for about three seconds before Michelangelo rebounded and came straight towards her.

Startled back into action, she stood waiting for Mikey to come to her. As he came up, he was intending to trip her with an outstretched leg, but she jumped away from it in time. He brought up his other leg in a kick that she ducked instead of caught; after all, that would mean giving him his first point. Sliding out between his legs, she immediately stood up behind him and was going to try the same somersaulting trick that she did the first time.

It was foiled, however, when Mikey had the sense to duck; and duck low; leaving her to somersault in the air without really touching him. Ahnnie landed on the ground in front of him, still not fazed even though she'd just missed her second point. She quickly ran up to him, intending to get him while he was still down. But she was surprised when he came up, faster than expected, and gave her a pat/smack on the shoulder as he ran.

"One!" Michelangelo called out.

They both stopped running and whirled around in unison, now about seven feet away from each other.

"I am so totally getting the hang of this!" Michelangelo boasted.

Ahnnie simply tilted her head, arms crossed, inviting Mikey to come at her.

He did, and she still stood, waiting. At the right moment, she somersaulted over him again, and once behind him, did a back kick that pushed her bare foot onto his shell.

"Two!" Ahnnie called out, then leapt away out of Mikey's range.

His brothers were chuckling. "Spoke too soon, eh, Mikey?" Raphael teased.

But Michelangelo ignored them. He sped forward again, seeking to get closer to Ahnnie. She ducked and dodged, and they had something of a cat-and-mouse chase, with neither side getting closer and yet not any farther from each other. Eventually, though, they were stuck in close combat again, with Mikey throwing out some punches and Ahnnie dodging all of them. Her back was getting closer and closer to the wall, something she quickly corrected by sidestepping and then jumping forward, back behind Michelangelo.

Mikey, having learned his lesson about letting her get behind him, whirled around and attempted to head butt her. She jumped up, somersaulting again. Whether or not she was planning to propel herself on his shell was not very clear. Either way, Mikey quickly flipped over, lying down on his shell, and waited before sticking out his leg to swipe it at her side while she was midair.

She had no choice but to catch it, or else his (stinky) foot would have smashed her in the face. It was a really big foot, too, so she wasn't taking any chances. When she landed, she admitted defeat by obediently listening as Mikey called out, "Two!"

They both stood a moment in a standstill, watching each other closely like predator and prey. Ahnnie began to circle slowly around him, and he did so too in sync with her movement. His fists were clenched, but her hands were free and relaxed. Then, after they'd circled each other almost half of the way, they came together as fast as two angry cats.

It was hard to see what was going on from there. Plenty of times, it looked like Michelangelo had the advantage and was going to get his final point...but Ahnnie dodged and then it looked like _she _had the upper hand. Their movements were blurred by their closeness and speed, so the audience had trouble watching. To make a long story short, though, each of them were jabbing and dodging and kicking at each other in hopes of gaining their final point.

They separated again when Ahnnie agilely jumped back to avoid a kick. But when she landed, her right foot twisted slightly, and she stumbled backward onto her behind. It was a result of her having dodged too far, and too desperately to avoid the outcoming kick. Michelangelo obviously saw this advantage and came running right for her. There was no mercy, just delight in his eyes.

"Oh god," Donatello breathed, obviously waiting with bated breath to see who would come out the winner.

April was in no less suspense. "Ahnnie, get up," she whispered.

"If it's Mikey..." Raph said, but he just let it trail off at that.

Michelangelo was getting closer. Ahnnie wasn't getting up. He was going too fast...

Mikey skidded, and reached out for the prize. His mouth was open and about to say "three", but stopped before he could; for, he wasn't touching Ahnnie, he was touching the thin air between his hand and her back. A little poke could be felt on his forehead, and his eyes instinctively looked up to see what it was.

"Three," Ahnnie finished proudly. She had quickly pulled herself up in a handstand, and her calves were bent so that the big toe of her left foot touched Michelangelo's forehead ever so lightly. But her hair was becoming such a bother to her that she quickly shook it and then hooked her feet back to flip herself backwards, thus standing normally again.

"Yame!" Splinter called out again, but this time to end things instead of start them.

Michelangelo got up and bowed to Ahnnie respectfully. She bowed to him too, as was the custom in martial arts matches, and when they got up her face was lit in a smile. "That was a good game," she remarked.

He smiled back at her. "Same to you."

They came forward and shook hands. When they separated, the turtle brothers and April crowded around them.

"You and me, right now!" Raphael was insisting to Ahnnie, but Donatello pushed him out of the way.

"Ignore him," the purple-masked turtle said. "But that was great! It definitely looks like a game we could try! What's your style, though? I couldn't recognize it."

She blinked. "My style?"

April explained to her, "He means the martial arts you practice. You know, karate, kung fu, ninjutsu?"

"Oh!" Ahnnie nodded, understanding now. "Uh...well..." She rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "...I don't really have...a 'style'. That was just a bunch of gymnastics. I mean, I did learn a little Tae Kwon Do before, but that's about it."

Michelangelo butted in. "I know what we can call it! It can be your own personal style!" He started thinking. "Ahnnie-ku-do! No...that's not right...Ahnniekido? Ahnnie Kwon Do? Ahnnie-fu? No, no, I got this: Ahnjutsu!"

Raphael whistled. "And you beat Mikey anyway? Ah, no surprise there..."

Michelangelo glared at him. "Hey! I did my best!"

Ahnnie came to his defense. "Yes, he did, and he was good." She pat him on the shoulder. "I may have called this a 'game' and games include winning and losing...but in the end, games are all about fun, and it's no fun if you're always so focused on the outcome instead of the thrills. Right Mikey?"

Michelangelo nodded. "Yeah! What she said!"

Raphael smirked, crossing his arms. "Whatever. You and Donnie are still the A minus team though. I bet if it were me against her, I'd have her creamed before she could even get to me."

"And that's why," Leonardo put in, "we couldn't let you face her. We're not exactly looking to 'cream' people when we spar, Raph."

"That was brilliant, though!" April said. "When I get better, I'd like to try the same thing with you!"

Donatello edged in next to her. "How about me?" he asked slyly.

April, too excited to notice his intention, just nodded. "Sure!"

"Uh, I don't know, Donnie," Raphael said. "Aren't you supposed to love your girlfriend? Not fight her?"

Donatello blushed a beet red (something incredible to Ahnnie, because of the turtles' green skin) and yelled, "She's _not _my girlfriend!"

"Yeah, yeah," Mikey pretended to cede, but his mischievous smile told them otherwise.

* * *

Evening came and the turtles were preparing to leave on another nightly escapade. They'd just prepared their weapons and were ready to go outside when they remembered to invite their guest along with them.

"Want to come with us?" Leonardo asked her; she was in the living room, sitting on the couch. He was behind her, so all he could see of her was her hair.

She didn't respond.

"Hello?" He tapped her shoulder. "Ahnnie?" He shook her gently.

When he did so, her head lolled backwards. Her eyes were closed and her face was peaceful, meaning that she had fallen asleep.

But Mikey thought otherwise. "No!" he gasped. "L-Leo...you...you _killed her! LEO HOW COULD YOU-_"

Raphael put a hand on the panicking turtle's shoulder. "Relax, Mikey. She's just asleep. Again."

"Oh." He smiled. "Oh yeah...that makes more sense."

Donatello came over to Leo, gently pulling him away. "It's obvious that she's tired. You can't exactly regain a week's lost energy in one night, after all. Come on, let's go...quietly."

And that was what they did; stalk silently out of the lair, until they were sure their footsteps wouldn't wake her up.

A little while later, Ahnnie woke up anyway. She was tired, she had to admit, but was only settling in for a small cat nap. She had no idea she'd end up so deep in sleep. As expected, she was shocked to find the lair quite empty, devoid of all noise and turtles. She sat up a while, blinking sleepily, before rubbing her eyes and yawning. _No good...I've go to keep awake, at least for a few more hours. _She looked around, then, _I think they must have gone up to the surface again. That's what they did when they found me, right? _

She shrugged, and got up off the couch. She wasn't sure where Splinter had gone, and whether he was still in the lair, but either way she washed her face and went in search of a broom.

_This place could use a little sweeping, after all..._

Unbeknownst to her, Splinter-sensei had come out to watch.

* * *

"-showed those Purple Dragons who's boss!" Raphael was saying as he jumped over the old railing and into the lair.

"Did you see the look on Fong's face?" Leonardo added with a laugh.

"Why is it always me who has to take on Sid?" Donatello asked.

"Well, I don't know," Raphael was responding. "maybe it's 'cause you're-"

Michelangelo was holding out both hands to stop them. "Wait!" he yelled out.

His three brothers paused behind him.

Leonardo peeked out from behind his arm. "Um, what is it, Mikey?" he asked.

Michelangelo scanned the room warily, as though in wait of an attack. "Don't you guys notice something...different?"

"Different?" the other three asked in unison.

"Yeah...different."

Raphael wasn't pleased. "Come on, Mikey, if this is another one of your jokes-"

"It isn't!"

"Then _what _is _wrong_?" Donatello asked. "We can't just stand here forever!"

"Yes, Mikey," Leonardo agreed. "We're all hungry, too. We have to get in and eat."

The orange-masked ninja faltered, and let his brothers out past his arms. But they soon conceded his point when Donatello took a step further into the lair and remarked, "Hey, the floor's not as gritty as it was before. It feels...smoother."

Leonardo tapped his foot. "Hmm. You're right."

Raphael scoffed. "A smoother floor? Really? Is that all that's different?"

Michelangelo sniffed the air. "No..." He turned towards the kitchen. "Holy shell!" And started running for the dining table.

His brothers, alarmed, all raced after him. They expected something bad...something horrible, like, Splinter fallen unconscious on the floor. Or Ahnnie unconscious on the floor. Or poison, or...

"Oh, you're back." Ahnnie turned around from washing some pots, giving them a smile. "Welcome back."

But they weren't paying attention to her. Their eyes were glued to the food laid out on the table, which consisted of separate bowls of rice for each corresponding chair, smaller dipping sauce bowls of soy sauce, and the platters in the middle.

"Whoa..." Mikey gasped, and started counting the colors. "Red, orange, yellow, green, purple, brown, white, beige..." He looked up at her. "You forgot the blue."

She started explaining the food without even looking back. "Ginger chicken, stir-fried beef with bell peppers, sautéed greens and garlic, and taro soup. My mother's recipes." She finally put away the last pot and stretched her arms. Then she turned around, giving them all a satisfied smile. "I'm surprised, though...where did you get the taro?"

"April gave it to us."

They all turned around. It was Splinter-sensei.

The four turtles bowed respectfully. Ahnnie only did so after she remembered it was the polite thing to do.

"Sit down and eat," the sensei continued, gesturing at the chairs. "Don't let the food grow cold."

The startled turtles began to take their seats, only after their sensei did. They were still unsure of what to do, but they got the general idea when they picked up their chopsticks.

"So..." Leo began.

"What happened to our lair!?" Mikey yelled out.

"Um, I'm not sure it was a bad change," Donatello pointed out. "But yes...what happened?"

Splinter started explaining before Ahnnie could. "She was sweeping and cleaning and then, cooking. She even gave Spike some fresh leaves."

Raphael gaped at her. "Y-you found Spike?"

Ahnnie looked nervously from him to Splinter. "Uh...well...yes, I did...if that's the turtle's name...wait, sensei, how did you know...?"

"Forget that!" Mikey interrupted, suddenly recovered from his initial shock. "Let's eat!" He picked up a bit of beef with his chopsticks, dipped it in the soy sauce, and put it into his mouth. "Mmm...it's good!"

Donnie, Leo, and Raph reluctantly started trying some as well. After a while, they started to dig in to more, gradually coming to agree that the food was not so bad...well, for food that was strange to them.

"Almost as good as pizza," Mikey finally judged.

"Thank you." Ahnnie smiled, and helped herself to a small plate of her own beef.

Leonardo noticed it, and asked her about it. "Why not have some of the beef from here?"

"Oh, I like my beef a little more...rare," she explained. She picked up a piece with her chopsticks and squeezed it against her bowl of rice. Reddish-brown juice ran down. "The bloodier, the better," she added.

"I...I see." Leonardo left it at there, and continued eating. "So, Ahnnie," he said after a while. "You weren't kidding when you said you liked to cook."

"Yeah," Donatello agreed. "You made...a lot."

"At least it's not weird combinations, like Mikey does," Raph muttered.

Michelangleo was a little too busy chewing up three slices of bell peppers to have heard. "Hmm?" he asked, his mouth full.

Ahnnie nodded to Leo and Donnie's remarks while tearing a piece of chicken from the bone in her bowl. "I got all these from my mom," she said. "I think I told you she ran a chain of six restaurants before? Well, when you're the kid of a restaurant owner, you learn a few things."

Splinter chewed a bit of the greens before asking, "What kind of food did she serve?"

Ahnnie answered without hesitation. "Vietnamese. Because, well, we're Vietnamese. The ginger chicken is something of a half-Viet half-Thai dish, though."

The old sensei nodded. "Interesting." Then, noticing that the turtles had been pointedly avoiding the greens, he scooped some each into their bowls. "Eat your vegetables," he told them.

"But sensei," Raphael was about to argue.

Splinter narrowed his eyes at him.

The red masked turtle sighed. "Fine..."

Leo and Mikey were gagging on their greens, but swallowed them down anyway. Raph was staring at his a while before reluctantly shoving them in. Donatello seemed to be the most composed about it, for he simply put them in his mouth and chewed normally. Ahnnie, having been used to eating greens, ate them without any hesitation (and hey, she really liked it too, especially since it was Chinese watercress). So she couldn't help but look at the scene with some amusement.

_Just like kids, _she thought, and then decided to pull them out of their torture. "You know, they would taste a lot better if you dipped some in your soy sauce."

"Oh," Mikey said, and gave his a little dip.

Raphael, however, was smothering his greens in the dark sauce. "Mush bedder," he said with his mouth full. Which roughly translates to: 'Much better'.

At the sight of Raphael's unhealthy soy sauce habits, Ahnnie got up and went to fetch some cups, which she filled with water. She set them down for each of the turtles, their sensei, and herself. "Sorry, I forgot about them," she apologized. "And Raph, I got you a lot more water than everyone else because you're pretty much drowning yourself in soy sauce."

Raph simply nodded and continued in his quest to annihilate all the greens Splinter had given him.

"Thank you, Ahnnie," Splinter thanked her before taking in a sip.

And so they continued eating. It was pretty much uneventful, except for the snippets of conversation between the turtles, Ahnnie, and Splinter, mostly about the weather and other small-talk things. Quite ironic, for mutants who had been living in the sewers for most of their lives. Eventually, the food began to go down, and finally the soup ("Purple potatoes!?" Mikey had exclaimed). There was still half of the greens left over, which Ahnnie decided to refrigerate for herself.

Afterwards, when they were done, Michelangelo offered to wash the dishes while Ahnnie cleaned up the table. It was the end to a rather unlikely dinner down in the turtle lair, but quite a happy one; for, twenty minutes after the full feeling in their stomachs faded away, the turtles were back to their games and hobbies, with Ahnnie actually agreeing to go against Leo in a video game battle. "Just one," she'd said. And she lost, of course.

"Loser gets TICKLED!" Michelangelo had declared, and practically wrestled Ahnnie all over the living room.

She was laughing, laughing as though she hadn't laughed in weeks. She'd been laughing so much that she was breathless when Leo and Donnie finally got Mikey to stop. Her face was red all over, and she was wheezing like someone with a chronic cough...but she didn't mind. In fact, she was glad. It was almost like being with her two unruly siblings again.

Almost...

And that was how Ahnnie's first day with the turtles ended.

* * *

Later that night, Ahnnie was settling down on the couch again. It was decided that, since there wasn't any guest room or extra bunk for her, she could sleep on the couch for the remainder of her stay. Splinter liked the arrangement especially, since it just wouldn't do to stuff her in with the turtles for obvious reasons. So when she was going to sleep, the same blanket from the night before was given to her, and it was currently pulled quite comfortably over her body...but she couldn't sleep.

She didn't know why. Maybe it was because she'd slept too much during the day. Maybe it was because her eyelids were stubborn. And maybe it was because she was feeling a little homesick.

_Ok, not homesick, that is so childish, _she thought. _But...I do wonder how Tien and TB are doing...are they panicking? Do they know I'm all right? _

_I hope they had the sense not to contact the police. _(And how ironic _that _thought was.)

_The _BAN MAI _haven't known yet, right? They shouldn't have...at least, last time I checked..._

_Nah, they don't know. They weren't mobilizing to search for me, so they don't know._

_But if I don't find Mom and Dad soon...they might..._

_No! Stop! _She shook her head. _I _WILL _find them soon! And then I'll repay the turtles and Splinter-sensei for taking good care of me. Yes, I will...everything will be all right..._

And yet, she just couldn't put herself to sleep. That strange, tingling, butterfly-stomach feeling continued to bother her until she felt like she would explode. To try and alleviate it, she sat up a bit, keeping the blanket on her legs. She tried counting imaginary sheep as they jumped over an imaginary fence. She tried lolling her head side to side a little forcibly, to see if the dizziness would tire her out. She tried remembering the lyrics to a really long and boring song. She tried to daydream about an adventure and hope that it would soon come to be a normal, sleep-induced, dream. She tried sleeping at odd angles, sleeping without the blanket, sleeping with the blanket but hugging it instead of being under it...

_I. Just. Can't. Sleep._

She sat up again, and exasperated huff escaped from her lips. Seeing as sleeping was futile, she decided to just wake up until she could sleep. Maybe walk around a little, do some pacing. That plan seemed fine, except...

_What if I wake up the turtles, or Splinter-sensei? Well, maybe not sensei, his room is way back in the dojo. But I don't even know where the turtles sleep, and I don't want to risk it if it's close to this room. _

Ahnnie crossed her arms, looked around the room, thinking, thinking...her eyes finally caught the entrance to the lair. _I'll go outside! Er, well, not outside-outside, but outside of the lair. _Feeling determined, she went through her backpack, which had been lying on the floor below her, and took out a red hoodie. She pulled it over herself and, after having zipped up the backpack, threw the blankets off her and got up to walk to the entrance.

Her flip-flops were as she left them, sitting neatly in a corner. She slipped her bare feet into them and silently went up the steps, stepped over the railing, and then back down another set of steps to the subway platform beyond.

She'd only realized it, but the area directly outside of the lair was not another part of the sewers but of an old subway railroad illuminated by dim red lighting. She guessed that she'd been too nauseated by the sewer entrance they took to notice the subway road, but now that she had command of all her senses, she saw it to be not all that bad. The air was just as fresh as the lair's, although there was a slight hint of the sewers beyond.

Ahnnie paced out to the edge of the platform until her toes were almost hanging over. She stared down at the old subway rails, noting absentmindedly how dark it seemed at the bottom. _I wonder if I went down? Would a train come by? Nah, that's stupid. There's no train around here. It looks as if there hasn't been a train here for years now. _With a look back at the lair, she thought, _this place must've been an old subway stop. Splinter certainly chose a good spot to make a home. Where did he get all the furniture, though?_

Eventually, she began to sit down, her legs dangling over the edge. She sat on her hands, staring at the rails, trying to think of vague thoughts like the ones she'd just had. Anything but thinking of the _BAN MAI_. Or of how her family must be panicking.

_Are you goin' to Scarborough Fair? _

_Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme._

_Remember me to one who lives there, _

_She was once a true love of mine._

She started to hum.

* * *

Leonardo flushed the toilet, having woken up to go to the bathroom, and now washing his hands before going back to his bunk and sleep. After wiping and drying them, he turned off the bathroom light and exited stifling a yawn. His eyes blinked sleepily, and his mind grew fuzzy for a little moment. Sleep still had a hold on him, and he found himself forced to stand still until he could reorient himself.

When he was reoriented, he started to head back...but something stopped him. Something tuneful and airy and...out-of-place.

Humming.

_That's definitely not Mikey, _he thought, his eyes growing wide and his senses suddenly on the alert. _And Splinter-sensei only hums old Japanese tunes. _His head turned cautiously around, searching through the dark. _Ahnnie?_

Leonardo slowly stalked over to the living room. He still heard the humming, but unfortunately, it sounded too distanced to be coming from the living room. So maybe it wasn't Ahnnie. Then who?

_I'll just take a quick look and see, _he reassured himself.

He reached the couch where Ahnnie had last gone to sleep. His eyes were still unaccustomed to the dark from his trip to the bathroom, so he had to wait a while before they adjusted. And when they did, he was surprised to find that Ahnnie was _not _on the couch. Her blanket was there, her backpack was right next to it, but she was missing.

The humming continued to bother him, but he was baffled. It...it was as if it came from...outside.

Slowly, gently, Leonardo began to edge himself out of the living room and over to the lair's entrance. He was going so that his legs and hands were poised in preparation to defend himself from potential attacks. He went up the steps listening to the creepy humming, remembering all the horror movies he and his brothers had watched on TV. Usually, when there was humming like this, and someone followed it to investigate...

He reached the top, standing just before the railing. What he saw out on the subway platform almost gave him a heart attack; some girl with long black hair and a red hoodie sitting on the edge, humming a medieval tune.

Oh wait a second. The hair looked familiar.

"Ahnnie...?" Leonardo cautiously called out.

* * *

Ahnnie whirled around, the humming cut off. Now it was her turn to have a heart attack. Leonardo's mask was taken off before he went to sleep, so all she saw was one of the turtles but couldn't recognize him. She immediately stood up, but didn't step any closer or do the stupid thing and jump backwards onto the railroad. She just stood there, blinking.

"Raph?" she asked. "Is that you?" She was going by memory of voice, and at the moment Leo's whispered voice sounded quite similar to Raphael's.

The maskless turtle shook his head. He seemed relieved. "I'm Leonardo."

Ahnnie sighed in relief too. "Oh...ok...Sorry, did I wake you up? I didn't mean to."

Leo jumped over the railing, coming down the steps to join her. "No, you didn't, don't worry. Um, why are you out here, if I may ask?"

She rubbed her arm nervously. "I couldn't sleep. Too many thoughts in my head."

Leonardo was now three feet in front of her, just standing there. "Is there something you want to talk about?" he suddenly asked.

Ahnnie looked at him confusedly. "No...I'm good...why?"

He shrugged. "It just helps, sometimes, when you talk with someone and get some worries off your chest. But if that's not what's bothering you, then just forget about what I said," he hurriedly added.

She chuckled uneasily, nodding. "Yeah...I know. Thank you for being concerned." She sighed. "So..."

"Yes?"

"Uh...did you have a good time? Up on the surface?"

He blinked. "Yeah. We did."

"What do you usually do?"

Leonardo shrugged. "Well...sometimes we fight...sometimes we just play. Other times we eat at Murakami's. That's all."

She tried to smile. "I see."

"What do _you _usually do, on the surface?" Leo began to ask back.

_Doesn't he know that before this, I lived primarily on the surface? _She ignored it and started to answer him. "Same as you. Sometimes fighting, sometimes playing, sometimes eating." She thought a while before adding, "We also go on adventures, so being away from home for a while isn't anything strange. This time, though...is just different..." She shook her head, realizing that she was treading on troubled waters.

"Adventures?" he asked. She could tell Leonardo was trying to suppress his curiosity at her mention of the word 'adventures'. His eyes were looking at her with a sudden interested light, and he opened his mouth to say something, but...

"Hey Leo! Quit kissing your girlfriend and _get back to sleep!_"

Ahnnie and Leo whirled around, finding themselves confronted by a grumpy looking Michelangelo.

"Mikey!" Leo said, and went up to him. "What...what are you doing out here?"

"I heard a scary humming," he explained, "and then I woke up, and didn't see you anywhere...So I searched for you, and I found you here, with Ahnnie."

Ahnnie chuckled nervously. "That humming was me," she said. "Sorry. I came out here because I couldn't sleep, and then Leo found me. We were just talking. Not...kissing."

Leonardo blushed, feeling embarrassed that his brother had made such a...remark about the two of them.

"Oh, I was just joking," Mikey said, feeling better now. "But I wouldn't be surprised if-"

Leonardo silenced his little brother by covering his blabbering mouth with his hand. "Ok, that's enough. Let's go back to sleep and pretend this never happened, ok?" He looked back towards Ahnnie. "Are you coming?"

"Uh...yeah!" She raced after him. "I shouldn't be staying out here too long anyways."

The three of them reentered the lair, with Mikey and Leo heading back to their bunks and Ahnnie slipping underneath her blanket at the couch. The air was still tense and awkward between them, especially after Mikey had to say such a comment, but they were quite sure it would be forgotten in the morning. This was Mikey, after all. _And night talk is like butter...it melts when the sun rises._

"But I still can't sleep," Ahnnie mumbled irritably to herself.

* * *

**Phew! This was a long chapter. But I had so much muse. Please review ^^!**


	4. Chapter 4

Ahnnie crouched in wait, keeping an eye on Donatello as he too held the same expectant position. None of them moved a muscle, for fear of breaking their concentration. Time seemed to pass by in eternities instead of seconds, and it seemed as though it would stay that way, until Splinter-sensei took pity on them and commanded them to life.

"Hajime!"

The two of them rushed at each other, punching and jabbing out until Donnie caught Ahnnie by the wrist and flipped her down onto the dojo's carpet.

"Yame."

She got up, dusting her clothes off. Donatello, who had been standing the entire time, did not have to do much except come forward. They bowed to each other and when they separated, Splinter took Ahnnie aside and looked at her with thoughtful, analyzing eyes.

As you can probably tell from the scene, the turtles and Ahnnie were training again (April wasn't available to come so she wasn't there), but this time instead of playing games they were sparring each other under Splinter's supervision. The rat sensei wanted to see how Ahnnie would do in close, judo-style combat without any fancy jumping or the like. He'd heard her remark yesterday about not having any particular style, just gymnastics and a bit of Tae Kwon Do. He wanted to see how far that improvised style (or Ahnjutsu, as Michelangelo called it) went.

"Hmm..." Splinter rubbed his bearded chin.

Donatello raised a hand. "Sensei, maybe it's because I was too tall."

The old rat shook his head. "Height is not much of a factor if you know what to do."

"But sensei," Leonardo said, "she lost to me and Donnie, and we're both taller than her. Maybe if we tried someone shorter..."

He sighed, and said, "We will try it out...Raphael, you are up next."

Raphael was about just the same height as the magician girl, but he didn't seem to take offense at that as he came up to the middle to challenge her. She went back into position as well, and they both crouched in wait until Splinter gave them the ready signal.

When they came at each other, the result was as before; the difference being, Raphael had pulled her arm behind her back and held her down with his knee.

Ahnnie beat the floor with her free hand in pain. "Ow, ow, ow!"

"I thought you were flexible," Raphael said.

"That doesn't mean I'm made of rubber!" she ground out.

The red-masked turtle shrugged and let go of her arm. She rolled over and sat up cradling it.

Splinter came in between them and inspected the magician girl's arm carefully. When he was done he stood up and gave his analysis. "You have speed," he began, "timing, and agility; but those are all things that are at your disposal when you are aiming to get away from your opponent, rather than get close."

Leonardo frowned. "That doesn't make sense. She was close up with Mikey yesterday, remember sensei? If that were true, wouldn't he have flipped her?"

"Yes, Leonardo, I do remember. However, Michelangelo wasn't aiming to flip her. His objective was to touch her. The intention of your opponent makes that much of a difference." He turned back towards Ahnnie. "I am guessing that you have mostly fought at a distance from your opponents, with a majority of your close combat taking place only with a weapon in your hand?"

She nodded reluctantly. "Now that you mention it, I have to say that you're right, sensei."

"Mm." He nodded. "Such is the difference between you and my sons. It is not your fault, however, that you have not had the formal training."

She shrugged and smiled sheepishly. "A little practice with them and I think I'll get it."

"You will need more than just 'a little' practice," Splinter pointed out. "It is not easy, after all, to turn against years and years of worked-in habits. I am not saying you must redo your entire style, but that you must add this extra knowledge to your collection for the time that it comes in handy."

"Naw, she won't have to," Mikey said. "She's got her awesome magic already. Sensei," he quickly added.

"But," she countered, "magic should not be a substitute for everything. True, if I can help it, then I can use it. However, using it too often will make me grow lazy."

"And that is something we do not want to happen," Splinter added. "For great power, when in the hands of the wrong person, can lead to great disasters."

A moment of silence was allowed for all this to sink in. The turtles tried to imagine a different Ahnnie, one who used her magic opposite to what she said. Leonardo imagined an Ahnnie who grew greedy on magic. Raphael imagined an Ahnnie who became a bully with magic. Donatello imagined an Ahnnie who grew lazy on magic. Michelangelo...well, he imagined her creating pizzas out of thin air, and he didn't seem to dislike this Ahnnie.

"Take a break," Splinter finally said, drawing the turtles out of their thoughts. "We will continue later."

* * *

Mikey slid over to Ahnnie as she was rubbing her hurt arm in a corner of the dojo, eyes sparkling with mischief. He edged himself in so that he was next to her and whispered into her ear: "Hey, Ahnnie, show me your weapons. C'mon, pretty please?"

Ahnnie looked at him. "Why?"

"I just want to see them. Pleeaaase?"

She frowned. "I don't really see why I have to right now."

His features softened disappointedly. "Aww..."

Ahnnie sighed. "Look, Mikey, if we end up fighting sometime later on the surface, then you'll get to see them. Right now, everything is peaceful, so why do I have to pull them out?"

"I thought since we we're buddies now," he explained, "that we should get to know each other better. As a start, we can show each other our weapons. You know I use the 'chucks."

"And Raph uses sais, Leo uses katanas, Donatello has a staff," she finished. "You've seen mine already though, haven't you?"

"Yeah, but is that _all _you have?"

_Whoa. _Ahnnie blinked. _He's quite...sharp. _"Ok, you made a valid point. Since we're basically living with each other, it makes sense to get more acquainted with one another."

"So you'll show me?" His face brightened up.

She thought a moment, and then sighed. "Well, I guess so. But just _showing _you; not _fighting_ you. I'm just going to say that if you don't want your lair to catch on fire or be blown away, then you shouldn't attempt to fight me. Not that I would but...who knows, you know?"

He nodded vigorously.

"Ok..." She got up off the carpet and, flexing her aching arm, headed out so that she put some distance between Mikey and herself. "So-"

Just when she got into position though, Michelangelo turned towards his brothers, who were off sitting together and talking in another corner, and yelled out, "Dudes, come over here! Ahnnie's going to show us her weapons!"

The three of them stopped in their conversation and paused a while to contemplate what that meant.

Ahnnie flushed in embarrassment. "M-Mikey!"

She didn't stop them, though, when they curiously filed over. She was just ashamed with herself for having been tricked so easily. It appeared that Michelangelo had more to him than she'd originally thought...But so what. She'd known for a while now not to take things immediately at face-value. Everyone had some level of sneakiness to them, even the most simple of simpletons. That was a lesson both painfully and joyfully learned.

Ahnnie sighed, rubbing her hurt arm a little more before saying, "I won't renege on my promise. Just give me a moment." She took a deep breath, closed her eyes...in truth, she did not have to do that, but she just didn't want to get stage fright by looking at their judgmental faces. Her eyes opened again and focused on her left hip, where she put her right hand and motioned it as though she were unsheathing an invisible sword from its scabbard...

The outlines of a dark red hilt and shining metal blade were becoming visible as she unsheathed more and more of the sword. When she was done, she held the fully formed katana out for all of them to see. A little pendant tied around the hilt swung around as she moved, the blue orb it clung to catching the light in the dojo.

"This is obviously a katana," she explained. She swung the sword around in several basic kendo movements, and then stopped to turn back around and show them the full scope of the sword. "In my magic, I wield my elements in the forms of different weapons. This katana is the basic form of my first element, fire. I call it the Dragon-Spirit katana, because of the little dragon pendant I tied around the hilt." She pointed to the pendant, which was a metal cast of a circling dragon with its tail twining around a blue glass orb.

"Whoooaa..." Mikey held up an eye to the orb, looking through it. "Is there a real dragon inside it?" He asked.

"No," she said. "The pendant isn't anything magical. I just stuck it on when I was ten, because I thought it looked cool."

Donatello spoke up. "Wait...how did you just pull it out of nowhere? You must be hiding something."

She shrugged. "Feel free to take a look."

The purple-masked ninja got up to circle around her, frowning when he saw nothing that he thought would prove his point. He swiped the air near her leg where a scabbard would have been, but felt nothing. He thought some more, and then gave up, sitting back down again. "Never mind. Continue."

Ahnnie nodded, and then spun the sword in her hands. It elongated into the staff they had seen the night she saved them. Now in better light, they could see that the staff was as dark a red as the Dragon-Spirit katana's hilt with alternating darker red and lighter goldish-red engravings. Both ends were capped in a dark sort of metal that shone dully in the light. "This is the second form. A staff."

Mikey reached out to touch it.

"Wait, don't touch," Ahnnie quickly warned him, but it was too late; his finger had connected with the staff.

"Oww!" Michelangelo quickly recoiled, sucking on his burnt index finger.

Ahnnie dropped the staff and knelt down beside Michelangelo to take a look at his finger. "Are you all right?" she asked. He nodded; it was only a first-degree burn, not a serious one, because he'd drawn back in time. "I'm sorry," she apologized, "I should have said so first...when I said I wielded my elements in the form of weapons, I meant that they are also made up of the same elements."

Donatello eyed the staff confusedly. "So you're saying...the staff and katana...are made of fire?"

"As all the other forms are," Ahnnie nodded.

"Um, then why did you drop it?" Raphael asked.

"It won't do anything if I don't will it to," she explained. "Sure, it's made of fire; but it's _my _fire. If I wanted to now, I could make it burn up this dojo; but, that would be stupid, because I'd kill us all." She went back to the staff, and picked it up. "It doesn't affect me because it comes from me, and I can control it. But I can't do anything if anyone else touches it, because naturally, it's fire. Do you understand?"

Leonardo nodded slowly. "Kind of."

Ahnnie gave them a smile. "Ok, I guess that's fine. Now..." She held the staff in two hands and spun it around. It was nothing more but a dark red blur until she set it on the ground again; this time, it had a blade at the top. "The third form. A spear." The blade of the spear was just as gray and shiny as the katana's, although with some colored metal plating in the middle that imitated a single flame. She spun the spear in her hands like with the staff, and then held it out at a parallel angle to show everyone that there were two blades at either end.

"The fourth form," she said. "A double-headed spear." She calmly set it upright, one of the blades touching the floor. "And if I do this..." She gave the double-headed spear a shake and the blades immediately grew half a size bigger, with a more hooked shape. "I don't know what to call this," she explained, "but it's not a fifth form; more of an enhancement."

Ahnnie then spun the double-headed spear around again, and brought it down with a _bang _in the form of a Guan Dao. "The true fifth form, a Guan Dao. If you're not familiar with it, it's the Chinese version of the Japanese naginata, except with a bigger blade at the top." The blade certainly was big, and its crescent edge shone fatally in the dojo light; however, the metal of the blade was blacker than the previous weapons. "You can see as the forms go up, the blades get darker," she explained. "I don't know why, but I'm guessing it's to show the weight, and this is heavier than the others. I'm still trying to find it out."

"And now," she continued, "onto the last and sixth form..." She spun the Guan Dao around again, though its shape was still elongated, the big blade disappeared and three smaller blades grew from the side of the staff to become a three-bladed scythe. "...a triple-bladed scythe. I know it doesn't look practical, and it certainly isn't, so its use is primarily that of hooking down into the ground." She gave an example by holding the weapon so that the three blades faced the ground, hooks pointing inwards, and then slashing it down at an angle, but keeping it an inch above the ground so that it wouldn't damage the carpet. "That would bring up a flash of sparks and fire, much like how someone would kick up sand."

Having finished with her series of fire weapons, she spun the triple scythe in the air again, but this time there were no more forms; it vanished, as though there had been nothing in her hands the entire time. Donatello was obviously stumped, but he didn't try to argue for a logical explanation. At least not now.

"That concludes the fire," she said. "Now, I know I showed them in order of their forms, but as you have seen that night I did not use them in that same order. It's not mandatory for me to have to go through the all the forms to reach a certain form. Well, it used to, but that was when I was ten. Now the forms are just a more formal way of showing what they can look like." She clapped her hands together. "And that's all, folks, thank you for watching."

"You said you had other elements," Donatello reminded her, gesturing for her to continue.

"Ah, yeah," Ahnnie nodded, a little upset that he'd remembered. "Just one other one. I do have several magical objects that can help me control other elements, but without them I really can't do anything else. And I believe I left most of them in my purse, so at the moment I have only two."

"Well, what's the second one?" Raphael asked.

Ahnnie held out her hand to her side, and a sudden rushing breeze blew into the dojo. "Wind." The wind started wrapping around her hand, and the shape of a long and grey metallic staff began materializing. When fully formed, the turtles could see that it was another long weapon with a blade at the top. However, this blade was in the form of seven flanges, and its engravings were white instead of red. "The first form, a mace. This is a medieval European weapon now, not an Asian one, so it may seem a little strange to you. A real mace is actually shorter, around two feet long, and is primarily used as a cudgel or bludgeon to bash people in the head or sides.

"However, as you have probably guessed by now," she continued, "my specialty lies in longer weapons. So for this mace, I made the shaft longer. If I thrust it out like this..." She gave them an example by stepping back, holding the mace out in both hands, and giving it a small forward thrust. The flanges flared slightly, and a rush of wind fell over the turtles. "...then I release some wind."

"Cooool," Mikey oohed as the wind blew over his head.

Ahnnie brought the mace back up and then held it out towards Mikey. "Here, try touching it."

"Uh..." He was obviously hesitant.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt you," she said. "It's made of wind, so it shouldn't feel like anything more than a breeze."

While Michelangelo was still cringing, Leonardo and Donatello reached forward. "She's right," Leonardo remarked. "It feels nice and breezy."

"Like actual wind," Donatello breathed. "This...this is impossible..."

Mikey eventually gave in by poking the mace. "Ooh!" He gave it some more pokes, and then came to rest the top of his head against it. "Aahhh...much better..."

When the turtles withdrew (Raphael either seemed to think it childish to try touching her weapons, or he was afraid of getting hurt, like Mikey), Ahnnie took the mace back up and held it horizontally in both hands again. This time, however, her arms were outstretched in front of her, as if she were going to formally give the mace over to somebody. The turtles were expecting some kind of weapon change from there, and they were right; except, they were surprised by the way she did it.

For she'd bent her hands back and snapped the mace in two.

"Nooo!" Michelangelo lamented. "Why'd you break it!?"

Ahnnie laughed. "Relax. You'll see." She held out the broken pieces to either side of her, and another rush of wind began enveloping those pieces. It circled around them, eroding away at the jagged points and the very width itself. When finished, the remnants of the mace became two twin wands, around two feet long but skinnier than the mace's shaft had been. Ribbons sprouted from the tips of each wand and grew until they would obviously come to be seen as two matching grey-and-white ribbon batons.

"Marching band ribbons?" Raphael asked sarcastically, raising an eyebrow.

"Batons," she corrected him. "And they can't be used in marching bands. Here, I'll show you." She walked over to a suspended dummy, the ribbons trailing after her. She took the one in her right hand, held it up, and then slashed it down so that its ribbon trailed against the dummy. The sack immediately ripped open in correspondence to the path of the ribbon, and stuffing spilled everywhere. "You can touch this weapon," she said, "but you'd have to steer clear of the ribbons; as you've seen, they have a cutting edge to themselves that...well, would cut you."

When she turned back to the turtles, she decided it was time to show them the third form of her wind weapons. She took both batons and slapped them together, confusing the turtles at first. Wind rushed around the batons again, and seemed to merge the handles together. The ribbons twisted around another until they thickened into a sort of thin rope.

She held the newly created weapon in one hand, and said, "A whip. It has the same effect as the ribbons, but a little stronger." She turned it around several times to give the turtles a good look. When she was done, she did not demonstrate with the whip; instead, she tossed it in the air, where it coiled in on itself, and disappeared. "That's all the wind weapons," she said. "I don't have any more because...well, I haven't found any yet. The forms kind of...form themselves. I can only explain it that far."

A sudden round of applause came from behind her, and Ahnnie whirled around to find Splinter-sensei.

"O-oh, sensei," she said with a quick bow.

He chuckled. "It was quite an interesting show. I can now see why you're not that good in close weaponless combat."

She blushed. "Um..."

Splinter waved the matter away. "Never mind that now. If you are willing, we can use the rest of this time to help and correct that problem."

Her eyes lit up. "You really would? Thank you!"

Leonardo shrugged. "Guess that means break time is over."

"Yeah," Donatello nodded. "Come on guys, let's go." He got up with the others following after him to do their warmups.

"Come here to the center with Michelangelo," Splinter ordered, gesturing for Ahnnie.

And, as it was before, when they faced off...Ahnnie was flipped, again. And again. And...again. The same pattern continued on all the way through the rest of training. Splinter threw in a few instructions here and there, but the magician girl was still foiled every time she rushed at either one of the ninja turtles.

_How much more do I have to take...? _Ahnnie wondered.

* * *

"Are you ok, Ahnnie?" April asked.

Ahnnie, who was rubbing her arm with some sort of sharp smelling oil, winced in pain and nodded. "Yeah...I'm all right."

Both girls were in the living room, sitting on the couch and chatting. April had a half-day at school, so she was available to have lunch at the turtle lair. She was also informed of Ahnnie's situation with the _BAN MAI_ from the previous day, and so had no more questions about the magician girl's reluctance to meet other people. Rather, she was sympathetic and tried to be as friendly and helpful as possible.

"Splinter sure put you through some tough training," the redhead remarked.

Ahnnie shrugged, a little painfully. "Ow...Well, it wasn't _tough_, per se...It was kind of my fault. See, this morning when we were training, Splinter put me against Leo and..." To make a long story short, she told April of her close-combat predicament that Splinter managed to discover.

"And for someone with magic, that's kind of lame," Raphael jabbed as he walked past the living room.

April turned around angrily at him. "Everyone has their weaknesses," she said. "No one's perfect."

"Sure, but that doesn't matter when you've been...oh, I don't know...flipped over twenty times and still unable to get it right?" The red-masked turtle chuckled and continued on his way to the kitchen.

Ahnnie shook her head. "It's ok, April. He was just kidding."

"Boys," April huffed as she crossed her arms. "They think they're so great. Overstuffed with pride, more like."

Ahnnie simply smiled and continued applying the oil. "They'll learn. They're still teens."

"And what, you're an adult?"

She laughed at the joke. "No, that's not what I meant; although I do sound old saying such things. I meant that they still have time to learn. Life will teach them, as it teaches everyone else."

The redhead raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess; you're quoting from someone?"

"My grandpa." Ahnnie sighed. "He was the only other person in our family that didn't listen to the _BAN MAI. _Now he's gone."

April didn't dig any further into the subject. "So," she began, attempting to change it, "uh...it looks like Mikey's finished. Let's go and eat."

The menu for the day consisted of grilled cheese sandwiches (_At least it's not pizza again, _Ahnnie thought), and that was what he served to them as the girls approached the table. Leonardo and Donatello came out afterward, and they dug in as soon as they sat down. So did Raph and Mikey. Ahnnie, however, wiped her hands on a napkin before handling a sandwich and even then, held it carefully while also making sure the plate was directly underneath to catch any crumbs or cheese.

After biting into her sandwich for the third time, a piece of melted cheese got stuck to her cheek. She immediately dropped the sandwich onto the plate and wiped at her cheek with her napkin.

"It's always good to be clean," April remarked cheerily when she saw the awkward gazes of the turtles.

Ahnnie looked from April to the turtles, not sensing the mood. "Hm? Oh, yeah, it is." Then she continued eating.

A little later into the lunch, everyone began starting small conversations with one another. Ahnnie and April were deep in discussion about animal testing, and an observant onlooker would notice that Ahnnie always covered her mouth when she spoke while chewing. On the other hand, April waited until she swallowed before speaking.

Michelangelo, having noticed their polite talking manners and feeling mischievous, took a large bite out of his sandwich and then came behind the both of them. When he was in between their faces, they obviously turned around to ask what he was up to. And the moment they did...

"Bleeehhh!" He opened his mouth, revealing a plethora of chewed up sandwich-y goodness.

"Eeeeeww!" both girls squealed.

Leo and Raph were laughing; Donatello wasn't pleased.

"Mikey, close your mouth, _now,_" the purple-masked turtle scolded. "That is just disgusting and inconsiderate! In front of girls? Seriously?"

Michelangelo closed up his mouth and swallowed the food inside. "It was just a joke," he protested with a contradicting smile on his face. "You have to admit, it _was_ funny. See, Leo and Raph agree with me."

Both Leonardo and Raphael were still laughing, and Raphael even fell back over in his seat.

Donatello facepalmed. "I can see that, Mikey."

April, though shaken from what she saw, shook her head and continued to eat. "That was...just...gross! Boys are so..." She saw Donatello's staring. "...well, _some _boys are so...wild!"

"I know, right?" Donatello agreed. "Luckily for you, _I'm _not like that. Not that I meant 'for you' as in I'd be your boyfriend," he hurriedly added. "And not that I'd want to be your boyfriend; a-and I didn't mean that to say you're undesirable; because you are desirable; but I didn't mean that like I like-like you; I, I, I-"

Ahnnie quickly flung a piece of cheese at his face, stopping him from embarrassing himself any further.

Donatello slumped onto the table, the cheese still stuck on his forehead. "Thanks..."

"No problem," Ahnnie replied, and put down her sandwich, because Mikey's prank left her too scarred to continue eating.

Raphael smirked at her behavior. "Girls are so uptight. It was just a little food in his mouth! What's wrong with that?"

Ahnnie frowned. "What's wrong with it? Don't you see something wrong with that question? Showing people your chewed-up food is 'wrong' for so many reasons! Making others lose their appetite is the most common one."

"What're the others?"

"Do I have to tell you for you to know?"

He shrugged. "Maybe."

"Boys can be real immature sometimes," April remarked while trying to keep Ahnnie from arguing further. "Except for Donatello," she quickly added when she saw him pouting.

Ahnnie managed a smile despite her disgust. "Yeah..."

* * *

A little later after lunch, Ahnnie went to the middle of the living room, practicing the stances and grips and blocks that Splinter had suggested to be able to avoid the dreaded flip. She was recalling every single moment of his instruction, every single helpful word and motion, blocking out her surroundings in order to fully concentrate. She knew it wasn't necessary for her to learn such a thing, but it just felt _wrong _to be lacking it. Without it, she didn't feel whole somehow. She wasn't seeking perfection but perhaps, as Splinter had put it, more to add to her collection.

And anyway, she couldn't always rely on her magic. There had to be extra measures taken sometimes.

However, to outsiders (namely, the turtles), her practice looked a lot like weird, one-sided dancing.

"Hahaha!" Raphael burst out laughing. "What're you trying to do, tango your opponent to death?"

Ahnnie stopped and turned around. "No, I'm trying to practice what Splinter taught me. To block the flip," she added.

The red-masked turtle cocked an eyebrow. "Alone?"

She crossed her arms. "Do you see anyone doing it with me?"

"Noooo..." He chuckled again. "Well, good luck practicing with your imaginary friend," he jabbed as Donatello called for him from inside his lab.

The magician girl shook her head. "April's right. Boys."

"What about them?"

She turned around again, this time facing Leonardo. "All right, what do you want?" she asked tersely.

He held up two hands in surrender. "Hey, I wasn't making fun of you."

"Might as well have," she grumbled as she plopped down onto the floor, sitting cross-legged, propping her face on her two arms.

Leonardo, taken aback, entered the living room and sat down in front of her. The action startled her and made her straighten up, but Leo didn't seem to care. His blue eyes looked into hers with concern. "What's wrong?" was the first thing he asked.

Ahnnie blinked. "Uh...nothing...I was just a bit irritated at Raph's joking."

"Just ignore him, he's like that but he doesn't mean any harm."

She nodded. "Oh, I know, I have a sister who is the same. It's just...well...I was concentrating so hard..." She sighed.

"On what?"

"Blocking myself from getting flipped. Remember?"

Leo nodded. "Would you like some help, then?"

This surprised her even more. "Oh, um...you'd help?"

"Yeah."

"But aren't you busy?"

He looked at her amusedly. "Doing what?"

"Doing...well..." She looked around the room, trying to think of something to say. Her eyes caught sight of Michelangelo breakdancing to some hip-hop/rap music somewhere off to the side. Donatello and Raphael were nowhere to be found, since they both were in Donatello's lab. "...that?" She pointed to the dancing orange-masked turtle.

Leonardo looked where she pointed. When he did, he chuckled, trying to keep it from becoming a full-blown laugh. "If I were busy dancing, what would I be doing here then?"

Ahnnie laughed at herself. "Oh yeah..."

"So, how's about a little practice?"

"Here?"

"We could head to the dojo, if you want," he said.

Ahnnie scratched the back of her head. "Well, sure. I wouldn't want to create a mess here." She gestured towards the video game console, the TV, its DVD player, and other living room stuff.

Leonardo jumped up, extending a hand. "Let's go then."

Ahnnie politely refused the hand and stood up on her own.

The both of them walked out of the living room, heading for the corridor that would take them to the dojo. Mikey seemed too preoccupied by his dancing to notice the two of them leave (so, luckily for them, no more kissing jokes). When they reached the dojo, Leonardo entered first, heading for the center. Ahnnie came in second, a little hesitant when she saw the traditional sliding door.

"Is something wrong?" Leonardo asked her when he saw her reluctance.

"Oh, um..." She jogged up to him. "Splinter-sensei is in there, isn't he?" She pointed.

"He is, but don't worry, we won't bother him."

"Ok..."

Without any more words, Leo and Ahnnie, knowing what to do by now, stood facing each other about five feet apart. There was no need for any sense of formality (meaning no 'Hajime' or 'Yame' or bowing), so Leonardo just instructed her rush at him while he stood still. When she came up to him, he told her to stop, and to consider both their positions.

Ahnnie looked at him, and then at herself. "We both look ready to fight," she said at last.

"Yeah, but why do you think you've been flipped all this time?" he countered.

She thought for a moment. "I'm giving too many handholds?"

"Sure, but what kinds?"

Ahnnie looked down at herself. Then she made a facepalm. "Of course! I'm practically holding out my hands to you; I'm leaning too forward!" She corrected herself, but held more questions for Leo. "Why do I still don't feel like I can block a flipping...?"

"Well let's try it."

She went back and then rushed at him again. It that moment when they came together, Ahnnie made sure she did not give Leonardo much of a handhold to grab her and flip her. Something felt wrong, though; something in her composition; and she accepted it with certainty when Leonardo was able to grab her somehow and proceed to flip her. However, he only stopped midway, so she was still on her feet.

He released her and let her steady herself. He looked thoughtful, and asked her to try it again.

So Ahnnie went back to her starting point, and then turned around to rush at him one more time.

"Aha!" Leo said, freezing the both of them just as he was about to grab her wrist. "See it?" he asked.

Ahnnie looked at their hands. "See what?"

"You hold out your wrist at the last minute," he explained. "It's involuntary; you come at me thinking to get a hold of me, so you automatically give me your hand at the last minute. That's what I catch onto, and you don't notice fast enough to stop it."

Ahnnie blinked. She studied the position of his bigger green, three-fingered hand and her smaller, lighter five-fingered one. "You're right," she realized, and released a flow of pent-up breath. "Wow...who knew it was something so simple...?" She relaxed her stance and stood normally, looking at her hand as if it was the one that gave her the answer.

Leonardo straightened up as well, and came forward to give her a rewarding pat on the shoulder. "Now you know what to do," he said proudly. "Would you like to try again?"

"Sure," she said, and there was a glint in her eye.

They both came apart for the third time and studied each other closely. Then, upon her own inclination, Ahnnie came racing up to Leonardo, closer and closer until...

Leo was baffled. She was holding out her hand again, like before. Hadn't she learned anything? He decided to teach her about it by flipping her, but was met with an unexpected surprise.

Her other hand shot forward, crossing over and giving him a glancing pat to his shoulder as she danced agilely to his back.

When he turned around, she was smiling with the closest thing that could come to mischief. "I pulled a feint," she said, as if he wouldn't have known.

Leonardo smiled too. "I could see that."

"What you said about me and my hand at the last minute; well, I decided to construe it a little more differently. I wondered what would happen if I tried to trap you with your logic...that is, reaching out for my outreaching hand to flip me with...and pretended to do that again, only so I could block with my left hand and get away to safety."

Leo raised an eyebrow. "And the conclusion to your lecture?"

She laughed at his joke. "Well, not the final conclusion, but a helpful one; pull feints with the enemy's handholds."

He grinned. "That's one way to do it, I suppose."

"But since I spilled my secret," she continued, "you won't be fooled next time."

"...pretty much, yeah."

The look on her face was a mix between disappointment and thoughtfulness. "So it's not going to work all the time...I still have to figure out a way that will truly keep myself from getting flipped..."

"Well, as long as you don't give your enemy a last-minute handhold, what've you got to lose?"

"I guess..."

"Look, the basic thing to do when you're going to flip someone is to remain calm and watch for their movement. That's because the person coming at you is usually rushing; so if you think about it that way, you can turn 'the logic' around and be the one who is calm."

Ahnnie bobbed her eyebrows and gave a mock whistle. "And you said I was giving you a lecture..."

Leo laughed. "Yours was longer!"

She crossed her arms and gave him a teasing look. "Well that's very chivalric, arguing with a girl."

"Hey, you asked for my help."

"You could've chosen to ignore me," Ahnnie said as she brushed past him playfully. "But, you didn't; and I guess I should thank you for that. Should I?"

He smirked. "What do you think?"

She paused in her tracks. "Thanks, then," she finally said.

"You're welcome," Leonardo returned with mocking grace.

Ahnnie laughed. "Oh, you're too kind, good sir," she continued. "The way you speak, I'd have thought you were part of a king's court." Her eyes widened. "Unless you really are?"

He was baffled. "Huh? What?"

"Haha! Just kidding."

But then she could see that he was genuinely confused. "King's court?" he asked her.

"The general assembly of a king's officials, councilors, and officers," Ahnnie explained. "As well as the Quen's ladies-in-waiting. Not to be confused with the civil or criminal court used today."

"Oh."

"Yeah, they're real fancy."

Leonardo nodded, guessing as much. "Have you ever been to one?" he asked curiously.

She shrugged. "It's rare to do that in this day and age," she said. "But I have, once or twice, where I've adventured. The best known sovereign I can think of now, whose court I have visited, is Fire Lord Zuko of the Fire Nation..." Her brows furrowed. "Not the best example to give here," she said at last. "Perhaps I can tell you the story later."

"So, uh, your adventures," he began again. "What are they like?"

Ahnnie tried not to look too sympathetic. No, she didn't pity him. But there was just something about the way he asked...perhaps the look in his eye...that seemed to hit sensitive spot. _Just like...my little brother, _she suddenly thought. That brought her back to the time when she first taught her siblings magic and imagination. Such curious souls, they were. And still are. She gave a little chuckle at that, but quickly stopped before Leo could get the wrong idea.

"Not all adventures are the same," she started to say. "Some had different agendas. Like treasure-hunting, or criminal-stopping, or..."

"SHE'S GONNA BLOW!" Mikey's voice could suddenly be heard yelling from the living room.

Ahnnie and Leo looked at each other.

"What's he talking about?" Ahnnie asked.

Leonardo frowned. "I don't know...c'mon, let's go and see."

They both raced for the living room, a sense of urgency rising in them as they thought of what Michelangelo was panicking about. When they got there, they didn't see anyone at first, until Ahnnie discovered Michelangelo hiding behind the couch.

"Mikey? What's happened?" she asked concernedly, kneeling down beside him.

"Don-Donnie," the orange-masked turtle stuttered. "Experiment gone wrong!"

"Duck, Leo!" Raphael's voice called out from somewhere in the kitchen.

Leo was confused. "What-"

But he didn't have time to finish his question, or inquire as to Donatello's whereabouts; there was a sudden thick and gooey _KA-BLOOEY _sound and the immediate area around the lab entrance was splattered with some sort of weird-smelling goop.

"YEOW!" Leo was hit in the face, because he'd still been standing instead of ducking.

When it was done, Mikey and Raph rose seemingly untouched. Ahnnie got a little bit of the goo on her shoulder, but she flicked it off. Donatello could be heard yelling a garbled "Sorry!" from his lab, but that was about it.

"What...just...happened?" Ahnnie asked shakily. "And look! The lair's dirty again."

Raphael groaned at the prospect of what that promised, and Michelangelo just shrugged. "I don't know..."

Leonardo swiped the goo off his face. "Eugh! What on _earth _are you trying to do, Donnie!?"

"Sorry!" the purple-masked turtle apologized again. This time he trudged out of the lab, trailing gooey prints in his wake. "I was just testing out another antidote. It's for Timothy, if you remember-"

"Yeah, we remember," Raphael grumbled, putting a heavy emphasis on 'remember'.

"Are you trying to _kill _him!?" Mikey exclaimed, pointing to all the goo on the walls.

Donatello shook his head. "No, no...that was a result of some bad mixing..."

"Well, I don't know who Timothy is," Ahnnie said at last. "But I do know this: we are cleaning up. Now. This stuff is just putrid."

All four turtle brothers groaned.

* * *

**OC Ahnnie character trivia~! In which you learn some random facts about Ahnnie:**

*_EDIT 10/4/2013: A note on her height, which I fixed. Ahnnie is a few inches shorter than Leo and April, much shorter than Donatello and Splinter, and about the same height as Raph but still taller than Mikey. _

**-Her favorite color is red.**

**-Her favorite fruit is persimmon. **

**-Her favorite food is often disputed, but it can be said she likes anything salty.**

**-She is blood type AB.**

**-She is allergic to raw apples and soy milk.**

**-Her arms have small criss-crossing scars caused by violent puppy teething. **

**-She is secretly a pack-rat; whatever is nice and small, she puts away in her private collection. So far she has a whole jarful of semi-precious rocks, the discarded feathers of a mask, and old Yu-Gi-Oh! cards.**

**-Her favorite media genres are fantasy and adventure; she strongly dislikes sci-fi.**

**-She has no favorite DC superhero. She thinks they're too buff.**

**-She used to be afraid of Elmo from Sesame Street as a little kid (she called him Big-Eyes).**

**-Despite her dislike of technology, she used to work with secret agent gadgets when she was nine to ten. **

**-Her name is actually spelled Anh; Ahnnie is just a nickname. She got it from a common misspelling of her name as 'Ahn' and her classmates adding an 'ee' nickname sound to her name. Ahn + ee = Ahnnie.**

**-She sometimes hides her face in her hair to pretend she is the girl from The Grudge to scare her siblings.**

**-She was spoiled as a child.**

**-Puppies make her go soft. **

**-Her siblings call her 'gloomy' because of her more serious tastes.**

**-Her favorite adventures are those that take place on mysterious jungle islands. Second to that are the mountains.**

**-She is an avid fan of Egyptology and knows quite a few things about ancient Egypt. ("The ancient Egyptians didn't call their country 'Egypt'; that's a name given by the Greeks. They called it 'Kemet', 'Kem', or 'Ta Mery'...")**

**-History is her favorite subject (especially on ancient civilizations, as you can see from above).**

**-She loves reading, and will be distracted by any place with a lot of books.**

_More to come later~! Keep watch every few chapters.__ Special thanks to rubyhardflames for providing me the info :)!_


	5. Chapter 5

It was nighttime, and Donnie was hard at work. Whether he was still working on an antidote for Timmy or something else in general was unknown. But either way, he refused to go along with his brothers on their latest surface escapade. It didn't exactly strike them as strange; there were times when Donnie just wanted to focus on an invention or some other research.

A brisk knock on the lab door broke the purple-masked turtle's attention just as he was adding the finishing touches. Donatello cringed for a second, a scolding already forming on his lips. But then he remembered that his brothers weren't in the lair, and it could be Splinter instead. With a sigh, he put his equipment down and tried not to stomp as he strode toward the door.

When he opened it, he found Ahnnie instead.

"Oh, Ahnnie," he said. "Um, did you need something?"

She shook her head. "No. I just wanted to see if you were all right. You've been in there for quite a while..."

He shrugged. "I'm fine. I'm just working on something. You sure you don't need anything?"

"Nah, I'm ok." Her face didn't look it, however. "But what about you? Are you hungry, or thirsty, or anything?" Then she gave herself a facepalm. "How stupid of me, why did I ask? Here, I was meaning to give you this."

Ahnnie took out a small packet of something from her pocket and put it in Donatello's outstretched hand. When he brought it closer, he found it to be some sort of dried fruit studded with sugar or some similar spice.

"What is it?" he asked, turning it around for inspection. The fruit itself was reddish-orange, more red than orange, and was cut into almost-rectangular strips around four inches long.

"Dried mango with chili salt," she explained without hesitation, "and lime."

Donatello tried his best not to pull a face. "Uh, thanks."

"It keeps you full for longer," she continued. "I don't know why; you probably do, though, since you know about science; but one or two pieces are enough to keep me full for a good five to six hours." She seemed to have noticed the apprehension in his face, because she added, "Don't worry, it's good. I guess, if you can handle some spiciness. You probably don't think it, but mangoes and chili salt go well together."

He slowly turned away, the packet of dried mangoes in his hand. "Ok...well, thanks, I was a little hungry."

She smiled. "You're welcome."

Donatello then closed the door, shutting him away from the outside world and absorbing himself in his work once more. He tossed the packet of dried mangoes a little unceremoniously onto a stool as he went back to his worktable, the call of his almost finished invention being stronger than any hunger or courtesy at the moment. He just had a little more left...a tiny, little detail, and he'd be done...

* * *

The next night was the night Donnie chose to unveil his surprise. Dinner was still cooking (courtesy of Ahnnie and Michelangelo working in the kitchen together), and Leonardo was watching Space Heroes while Raphael found it the perfect time to practice his punches on a dummy.

Ahnnie had just cut her finger with a knife and was rushing to her backpack to get a Band-Aid when Donatello pushed the doors of his lab open, striding out with a proud look on his face.

"Prepare to be amazed," the purple-masked turtle announced.

"Ooh, a new invention," Raphael said sarcastically. "What is it this time? Something that; wait, let me guess; blows up?"

Donatello shook his head. "Oh Raphael, always so single minded...no, even better." He held out a circular metallic disk big enough to fit in the palm of his hand, with the letter 'T' on top in a whiter metal finish.

Ahnnie perked her head up, her bleeding finger in her mouth. "What is it?" she asked, releasing the finger.

Donatello blinked at her. "You'll probably want to wash and disinfect that right now; putting it in your mouth wasn't very sanitary."

She looked down at the cut. "Oh...well, force of habit, I guess...anyways, your invention?"

"Right." He cleared his throat. "I now present to you..." He paused dramatically, as if waiting for a drumroll to end. "...the brand new...T-pod!"

"_NOOOO!_" Mikey automatically screamed. "_THROW IT AWAY!_" He made an unexpected lunge at Donatello in an attempt to either swipe the T-pod or knock it out of his hand.

Donatello was prepared and dodged Mikey. "Hey, easy! I didn't make this one with an AI chip. I used a few chips out of April's old phone instead."

"Oh." The orange-masked turtle backed away, embarrassed.

Ahnnie tilted her head in confusion. "What's an AI chip, and why's it so bad?"

"An AI chip, or more specifically, an artificial intelligence chip," Donnie explained, "is the sort of chip that is used in robots and computers to give those machines a simulation of intelligent behavior. Normally they're harmless, as you use computers every day without a problem; and some of the chips from April's phone are pretty much the same thing; but the one I was talking about was a military version." He flushed in embarrassment. "I made a T-pod out of one before, and it sort of evolved and spiraled out of control..."

She shrugged as she wrapped the Band-Aid around her cut. "Well, that's why you shouldn't rely on technology too much. No offense."

"None taken."

"How's this T-pod going to be any different from the other one?" Mikey asked skeptically as he made his way back to the kitchen. "You know, just so that we can defend ourselves in time."

"Well, it's not going to evolve, for one," Donatello began. "It's going to stay just as it is." He cleared his throat again. "With the chips from April's phone, I've given this T-pod access to internet-related apps, such as iTunes and Rhapsody, so searching for music can be easier. You can even access YouTube!" He flipped the T-pod over and revealed a smooth, glassy surface that was the screen. "And just like April's phone, it has a touch screen, complete with a digital touch keyboard that comes up any time you need to make a search. Press this button, and the screen will shut off...press it again, it'll light up. And if you hold it, it will turn off, just like a real phone."

"So." Raphael came over, getting in between them. "Who's going to try it out first?"

Donatello rubbed his chin. "Actually, I was thinking..." His red eyes wandered over to Ahnnie. "Ahnnie, are you busy?"

She was closing up the backpack. "Me and Mikey are just letting the soup boil for now. Why?"

"Since you're our guest, I was thinking of giving you the honors." He held the T-pod out to her with a smile.

Raphael gave her a little push on the back when she didn't move a muscle. "Well, what're you waiting for? Don't just stand there!"

Ahnnie stumbled towards Donatello's outreached hand and lightly touched the edge of the T-pod with hesitant fingers. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Donnie affirmed.

Reassured, the girl took hold of the T-pod and pressed the button Donnie said would light the screen up. It did, and she pressed a few apps and buttons. Donnie gave her a set of earplugs as she was doing so, and she plugged them into the pod and put a plug into her ear.

After a while, her face grew thoughtful, as if she were listening to something. Then it brightened up. "Hey, this does work! And the sound quality is rather nice."

Donatello crossed his arms, a smug smile spreading across his face. "What'd I tell you?"

Ahnnie turned her attention back to the T-pod screen, pressing a few more buttons. "Creating a playlist is easy, too. It's a lot like the iPhone...wow, April had an iPhone?"

"With a cherry red cover, before we smashed it," Raphael said.

She pretended not to look surprised. "That's...that's a pity...they're awfully expensive."

"Well, the newer ones are," Donatello explained. "The other generations you can get for a cheaper price."

Ahnnie nodded, and after pressing a few more buttons and apps, she took the earplugs out of her ears and handed the T-pod back to Donatello. "Here, I'm done. Thanks for letting me try it out."

"No problem."

But before the T-pod could return to Donnie's palm, Michelangelo swooped in. "Wait!" he said, and took the T-pod away.

"You could've just asked for a turn!" Donatello chided.

But Michelangelo wasn't listening; he was sneaking the earplugs into his ears, and opening up the playlists. "Let's see what kind of playlist Ahnnie made," he said to himself after a while.

His face was bright, hopeful, and mischievous. A moment later, it sank, and he ripped the earplugs out. "What the heck!?" He whirled around, pointing at Ahnnie accusingly. "What's with this music!? Is it even music!? Or is it something to make you cry!?"

Donatello and Raphael, surprised by Mikey's outburst, looked in bewilderment at Ahnnie.

Ahnnie blinked several times and then slowly pushed Michelangelo's pointed finger down. "...I just like listening to slower songs...is that so bad?"

"It's not just slow!" Mikey insisted, and stuck the earplugs into Donnie and Raph's ears.

After a while, the two of them yanked out the earplugs just as Michelangelo had done.

"Oh my GOD!" Raphael exclaimed. "I can't believe what I just heard!" He turned to Ahnnie. "Are you seriously a teenager!?"

Donatello recovered quicker, and seemed more composed. "No offense, but it's not exactly what we'd listen to. I won't delete your playlist, though, if you'd still like to listen to it..."

She gave them a half-smile, half-smirk. "No, go ahead, it's fine. Just a question though; what _would _you listen to? If you thought my choices were so horrible," she added.

Mikey, who still had the T-pod, did a quick song search and then passed the earplugs to Ahnnie. "Now _this _is music," he said.

Ahnnie frowned, and put a plug into her ear.

At first, she heard something like club music, the typical kind with the catchy beat and techno overlay. It was like that for the first seventeen seconds, until she heard a man yelling, "_Party Rock_!" It echoed, and then faded, but the music still played.

"_Yeah,_" another man said.

Someone whooped twice, with an echo effect, and said, "_Let's go!"_

Not too long after that, the actual singing started, but even then it sounded vague and hazy:

_Party rock is in the house tonight_

_Everybody just have a good time_

_And we gon' make you lose your mind_

_Everybody just have a good time_

Ahnnie turned to Mikey. "What song is this?" she asked.

Mikey just smiled and stayed silent.

_Party rock is in the house tonight_

_Everybody just have a good time_

_And we gon' make you lose your mind_

_We just wanna see you..._

_Shake that._

After that, it was a high-pitched techno solo, that Ahnnie apparently recognized. Her eyes went wide and her hand went up to the earplug.

"See? What'd I tell you?" Mikey asked proudly.

"Uh, Mikey, I don't think she..." But Raphael just trailed off.

"The...the..." Ahnnie stuttered. "The..."

Donnie looked from Mikey, to Raph, to Ahnnie. "What? What's she listening to?"

"The..." Ahnnie continued. "_The shuffle song!" _Then she took the earplug out. "Oh! Oh, god!"

Michelangelo's smile went upside down. "What? You didn't like it?"

Ahnnie had her head bent down and her hands pressed to her ears, as if to block out all noise, for a moment. When she released her hands, she shook her head. "No...sorry Mikey...but..." She looked up at him. "The shuffle song? Really?"

"Why? What's so bad about it?" Raphael asked.

"The annoying techno music, the weird shuffle dance...everything." She looked quite serious.

Michelangelo was distraught for only a minute when another mischievous thought crossed his mind. "You _really _don't like the song?"

"Really."

"And you _really _don't like the dancing?"

Ahnnie frowned. "Yes, Mikey, I don't like either of them!"

He grinned. "Then how d'you like...this!" And he started shuffling backwards while humming the tune.

"_Nooooo!_" Her voice was almost at a scream, and she ducked back onto a couch with a pillow to cover her ears. "_Stop!_"

Raph and Donnie looked at each other.

"This is a bit funny, you know," Raph said.

Donatello shrugged. "I guess."

Raphael grinned. "Then here goes nothing." He jumped over the couch, ripped the pillow from Ahnnie's grip, and _dooh-doohed_ the tune right in her face. Oh yes, and turned her head so that she would see him shuffle.

"_No, stop! Please, stop!" _

But the red-masked turtle was laughing. "Look guys, Ahnnie hates the shuffle dance!"

Leonardo barely looked up from his Space Heroes episode. "Uh-huh," he mumbled.

Ahnnie ducked her face into the couch again. "Seriously, stop it!"

"Stop it...?" Raphael gestured for her to continue.

"Please!"

He laughed. "What if we say no?"

She groaned. "Uuggh...why?"

"Well, why _not_?" Michelangelo asked. He was still shuffling.

"Because!" she protested.

Before Michelangelo could say anything else, Raphael quietly gestured for him to stand next to him. After he came over, Raph gave a little sigh and said, "Oh, ok, we've stopped. You can look now."

They could hear Ahnnie giving a muffled sigh of relief. "Thank goodness! Don't ever do that again-" But when she looked up, they both started shuffling...again...and singing the tune purposefully loud.

"Guuuuyys!" Ahnnie whined.

Donatello whistled, trying to look inconspicuous. He took back his T-pod and went back to his lair as naturally as possible.

Right at that moment, Splinter came. His rat's nose was twitching, sniffing the air for something. He looked quickly over at Raphael and Michelangelo doing the ridiculous dance in the living room (he didn't see Ahnnie, for she was lying flat on the couch), tilted his head confusedly, and asked, "Michelangelo, when is dinner ready?"

Mikey immediately stopped at the sound of Splinter's voice and straightened up. "Uh, um, ten more minutes, sensei."

"Then what is that smell?"

"Huh?" Mikey looked over to the kitchen; the soup pot was bubbling over.

Ahnnie shot up as if someone had poked her with a flaming brand. "Oh no!" she exclaimed. "The soup!" Forgetting all about the horrific shuffle song and dance, she jumped over the couch and dashed to the kitchen. "Crud, I forgot to lower the fire!"

Mikey caught up with her, and raised the pot above the reach of the flames so that Ahnnie could turn them down. Some of the bubbling soup spilled down the edges, but at least the soup inside simmered down from its previous boiling rage. After Ahnnie turned down the heat, he set the pot down again, and everything was all right once more.

They both paused to catch their breaths. While Ahnnie was still catching hers, Mikey turned around with a nervous smile. "The soup's ready," he said meekly.

* * *

"I just can't believe you're afraid of one little song," Raphael said as he was punching a dummy. The shuffle song incident from last night had become a subject of joking between Raphael and Michelangelo, and even at training time in the afternoon Ahnnie was still getting teased for it.

"Hey, I didn't say I was _afraid_," Ahnnie protested. She was doing warmups on the dojo floor. "It was just...annoying to me. You know how annoying stuff gets at you. Like...polka. Would you have sat there and listened if I sang polka right in your face?"

He answered her without looking away. " 'Guess not."

"Then you know how I feel with the shuffle song."

"Why do you keep calling it 'the shuffle song'? It has a name, you know."

She was beginning to look a tad annoyed. "Well, what's the name, then?"

"It's..." He frowned, and turned to Michelangelo. "Hey Mikey, what's the name of the shuffle song?"

"Oh, and I'm the one who keeps calling it 'the shuffle song'," Ahnnie muttered under her breath.

Michelangelo looked up from his training. "Party Rock Anthem!" he called out.

Raphael turned back to his dummy. "Yeah. It's 'Party Rock Anthem'."

Ahnnie smirked. "Ok, thanks for telling me...I sure wouldn't have known if you didn't." There was a sarcastic hint to it, but he didn't seem to notice.

Leonardo, who was also practicing on a dummy, eventually gave it a last punishing kick before falling back from it all together. "This is getting kind of boring," he remarked. "When're Splinter and April coming back?"

Donatello answered from where he was practicing. "Thirty more minutes."

Ahnnie jumped up from the floor, having been done with her warmups. "Well, he's taking her on a training exercise; don't expect it to last a short while."

"But I get where Leo's coming from," Raphael added as he, too, stepped back from his dummy. "Doing this, over and over again...it just bores you out. Like Donatello when he explains something."

"Hey!" Donatello exclaimed.

Mikey nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I'm so bored, I could just sleep right now."

"Training is training," said Ahnnie. "It's not exactly supposed to be fun all the time."

"But it _could _be a little more stimulating," Leonardo argued.

"It's really about how you perceive it," Ahnnie continued. "Try looking at it from a different angle. Imagine the dummy is a Kraang, or something like that." She shrugged.

"Oh, what a great idea," Mikey said unenthusiastically. "A Kraang that doesn't even fight back." He gave his dummy a half-hearted kick.

"How about you keep kicking it from the backside? To, you know, kick butt?"

Silence.

Michelangelo stared at her. "That was the worst joke. Ever."

Ahnnie rolled her eyes. "You try and find some ideas, then. I'm going to practice on my own dummy."

Raphael grew thoughtful. "Maybe me and Mikey could do the shuffle dance again..."

Ahnnie whirled around. "No! _No! _Anything but that!" She grit her teeth. "Fine! I'll think of something." She looked away, her eyes scanning the entirety of the dojo for inspirations. "Hmm...no..." Coming up with nothing, she went over to the dummies, trying to figure out how to make them more 'stimulating' for the turtles. _Maybe...maybe if I..._

She glanced back at them, imagining their faces if they knew what she was going to do.

"I'm gonna dance," Raphael announced, "in three...two..."

Ahnnie quickly went back to the dummy and chanted something foreign. Her hands glowed in a sort of lavender-ish light, like the one that came up when she cast the extension spell on her backpack. Streaming lines of light spread all over the dummy she touched, conforming to the shape of its body in swirling runes, and giving it something like drawn eyes. The dummy quivered and detached itself from the string that suspended it; Ahnnie caught it, and set it upright.

Then she stood back and spread her hands to either side of her, with the tips of her fingers pointing at the other dummies. The same lavender light coursed out and penetrated the dummies, and they did the same thing; quiver, detach, stand.

Before anyone could say anything, Ahnnie slowly turned around to face the turtles. "Ok, Raph, do you promise not to dance if this un-bores you?"

Raphael raised an eyebrow. "What _is _it, though?"

But without any explanation, Ahnnie pointed at the turtles. "Attack," she commanded.

It took them all a while to realize she wasn't talking to them; she was talking to the dummies. The now glowing stuffed sackcloth dummies suddenly raced for the turtles; and raced, as in, ran; and actually began to attack them.

"Whoa!" Raphael was startled as the first dummy aimed a kick at him, which he promptly blocked.

Mikey found the whole ordeal amusing. "Attack of the Dummies!" he exclaimed as he hit one in the head with one of his nunchaku; but, of course, as it was a dummy, it did not get knocked out. It just kept pushing forward.

Leonardo, who had to put away his katanas at the beginning of training because the blades would rip them up, was using wooden ones instead and hit one dummy in the neck with a downward slash. He sidestepped and gave it a back kick to the rear, making it stumble forward. It turned around automatically and continued to attack him.

Donatello skidded backwards from his skirmish with one of them, his staff pointing outwards in defense. "How do you stop them?" he asked over the din of the other turtles' fighting.

Ahnnie, who had been planning on jumping into the action then, stopped and thought for a moment. "Well, they were enchanted, so the only way to stop them is to drop the enchantment. I'm the one who enchanted them, so I have to drop it," she explained. "But if you knew magic, you could do an anti-enchantment spell to unweave it."

Donatello frowned. "That's nice, but I was wondering if there were some sort of conditions to knock them out. You know, like a hit to the head or the chest...?"

"Ah, that." She ducked one dummy's swerving punch and kicked it in the stomach, pushing it away; prior to her conversation with Donnie, she had ordered the dummies to attack her as well. "You know, I hadn't thought of that...well, you could slash them to bits, which would unanimate them too, but then you'd have no more dummies..."

"That makes it official!" Raphael shouted above the noise. "This is now 'Capture the Magician'. Whoever gets Ahnnie, has to make her agree to drop the enchantment!"

Ahnnie stopped attacking the dummy in surprise, which allowed it to score a hit to her head. But it was soft, so she was unfazed. "Hey, check with me first before you change everything like that!"

"But it sounds like a great idea!" Raphael protested. "Right, guys?"

Michelangelo nodded vigorously. "Dude, it's the best one since we started training this morning."

"I say we go along with it," Leonardo added.

Donatello went along with it too. "It's like defeating the boss in a video game."

Ahnnie sighed. "Fine. But next time, let me know first so I can prepare, ok?" She snapped her fingers, stopping and recalling the dummies to her side. One of them gave her a last whack in the back before she also undid the command to attack her. "All right. Since Donnie described this training session as being akin to a video game, we're going to do it that way. These dummies are my minions; I am the boss you must capture. Get past them to take me and I'll drop the enchantment." She placed a hand on a dummy's chest, made it glow, and then withdrew the hand. "I have just added a weak point you must hit to make a dummy fall. It's right in the chest."

She made a gesture for the dummies to fan out, and when they were in position, she pointed at the turtles again. "Attack!"

The dummies rushed out again, perhaps a little more ferociously than before. All the turtles had been crouching expectantly, and when the dummies came for them, they leapt into action.

There were seven dummies total. Seven to four seemed like an unfair number, but the turtles had fought with countless enemies on all sides before, so this particular training session was of no serious difficulty to them. The only thing different from before, other than the fact that the dummies seemed more reinvigorated, was that the previously spontaneous dummies were protecting their chests more than before. So their movement was more coordinated, more planned out, aimed to protect them from their weakness.

Raphael took two on at a time, Leonardo three, and Mikey and Donatello one each. When the going got rough, though, Donnie jumped in to lend Leo a hand. Spinning his staff, he circled one enchanted dummy and watched it, waiting for an opening. Then he struck out in a fast jab, hitting it square in the neck; too high. He ducked a crescent kick, and continued spinning his staff and circling his enemy. Without further ado, he gave another strike to the head combined with a kick to the chest; the dummy immediately sank down and lost its glowing runes, becoming normal stuffed sackcloth once more.

Ahnnie stood beneath the tree, reclining against it with her arms crossed. She pretended to cover a fake yawn with her hand. "Took you long enough to take one down."

"Hn," Raphael smirked. He held out his sais and stabbed one straight in the chest as it tried to overcome him with a bear hug. "You're just talking 'cause you're comfortable. Wait till I get to you!"

"You?" she asked, a teasing smile on her face. "Who knows, it might be Mikey."

Michelangelo spun his nunchaku as he and his dummy came at a standstill. "You better believe it'll be me!" He swung out, catching it around the neck in a sort of chained noose. He pulled it toward him and involuntarily gave it a knock in the head with his head; realizing his mistake, he pressed a finger to the dummy's chest and pushed it off as it unanimated.

_Three down, four to go, _Ahnnie counted.

That gave them an equal count of one for each. She wasn't surprised that they'd taken down such numbers so fast; their opponents were just dummies, after all. She was just wondering when either one of them would start going for her. Or would they all rush in at the same time?

Donatello and Leonardo seemed to have cleared an exit from the blockade of dummies (_Another one down, three to go, _Ahnnie thought). When Donnie saw it, he quickly headed for it.

Raphael saw him from the corner of his eye. "Oh no you don't!" His vigor boosted, he quickly took down another dummy, leaving only two left; which also meant he was free to race Donnie for the magician.

Ahnnie was actually worried they might reach her in time; but then Raphael did something, perhaps out of anger, that tripped both him and Donnie. Michelangelo, who'd just freed himself of the dummy he was facing, jumped at the chance and raced past them. He turned his head back once and blew a raspberry.

Leonardo just finished off the last dummy. "Wait for me!" he called out rather gleefully; as if he knew he were going to overtake Mikey; and dashed off as well.

Then Raphael and Donatello also got back up, starting the race anew.

Ahnnie looked more uncertain, now that she saw all four turtles were rushing for her. "Uh, guys, you kind of defeated all of them; why do you still have to get me?"

" 'Cause it's fun!" Raphael said.

Ahnnie backed up. "Eheh...guys...?"

"Whoever gets her has to make her watch them do the shuffle dance!" Raphael added.

Her eyes went wide. "Wh-what!? You promised you wouldn't dance if it didn't bore you!"

"Did I _say _that?"

Ahnnie thought back to their previous conversation. She grew more frantic. "No...no! Dang it, I didn't make you say it!"

He laughed at her discomfort. "Get ready, then!" He was coming closer...

It was inevitable. Raphael made the crossing leap past Leo and Mikey, coming in first place, bound to be the first one to reach her.

Ahnnie's eyes darted from left to right, searching for something to possibly distract him with.

Raphael was getting closer...

Ahnnie bit on her lower lip, hoping that this new impromptu plan would work, and focused her eyes on Raphael's path. She made sure to look as nervous and surprised as possible, so that it would work. "Raph..." she began, sounding utterly horrified. "Raph, watch out! There's a...on the floor!"

Raph narrowed his eyes. "What? I didn't hear that clearly!"

"The floor, on the floor! You're going to trip!"

"Wha-" Raphael looked down, neon green eyes searching the floor beneath him. But since he was going too fast, his footing went loose, and he stumbled. "Whoa!" He was teetering on one foot now, arms held out for balance.

Mikey zoomed past him. "Ha-ha!" He stuck his tongue out at his red-masked brother.

"Why you-" But as Raphael tried to grab him, his balance came apart and he fell. "Oof!"

"Not so fast, Mikey!" Leo exclaimed as he, too, was catching up. Where Mikey was in first place, Leo was coming fast in second.

That left Donatello in third. His legs were longer, so he made a midway leap that put him in between Leo and Mikey. He was practically sprinting. "That trick won't work twice," he warned Ahnnie in case she was going to say anything.

"What trick?" Mikey asked.

"The power of suggestion," Donatello answered. "It's usually carried out in a more hypnotic method, but there are other direct ways, which is what she used. She put all her belief into the suggestion that Raphael would fall, so that when she 'suggested' it to him, she sounded convincing enough to trick his mind into thinking there really was something on the floor that would make him trip."

Raphael got back up, and dashed after his brothers. "I don't know about that power of suggesting thingy, but like Donnie said; it ain't gonna happen again!"

Ahnnie backed up until she could feel the rough bark of the tree against her back. "Wait...all at once...isn't that unfair?" Her mind went to thinking. "You're not ALL going to shuffle...are you?"

But they didn't give her an answer; one leap was all it took from the four of them to bury her in a man-pile. Or should I say, turtle-pile.

"Oof!"

"Hey, watch it!"

"Owwww!"

"Raph, that's my hair!"

"Hey...these aren't my toes..."

They were all tangled on top of each other, with Ahnnie obviously at the bottom. It was a confused jumble of chaos, with neither one of them unable to free themselves from someone's grasp. They eventually settled it out, though, and were slowly climbing apart.

Just then a set of two different voices entered the dojo. They were distant at first, but gradually grew closer; they also sounded a lot like Splinter and April.

"...I get it now, sensei," April was saying. "So you don't actually keep a grip with your hands, but use your feet?"

Splinter nodded. "Yes, April, you are growing wiser." He paused, stopping short at the entrance of the dojo. "What is going on...?" he asked slowly.

April came in beside him. She let out a gasp, and two hands went up to cover it. Not only did she see all the turtles and Ahnnie in a messy jumble, but the dojo floor was littered sporadically with the seven fallen dummies. "Oh my gosh..." She ran forward. "Is everyone all right? What happened here?"

The first person she helped was Ahnnie, who'd let out a hand for the other girl to pull her out with. With April's help, she slid out from between Donatello and Michelangelo with ease. "Training," she said shakily. "That's what happened."

After Ahnnie came out, the other turtles sorted themselves rather easily. They all sat on their knees, obviously aware of Splinter's presence in the room. Leonardo, feeling responsible, bowed his head slightly and said, "Sensei."

Splinter narrowed his eyes. "I entrusted all of you with certain exercises to practice on while I was away with April. Why is it that the dummies you were using are now detached from their stands, and all over the floor?"

"Wait, sensei..." Ahnnie came forward, paused, sat down on her knees. "Sensei," she said again. "That wasn't their fault. It was me. I animated the dummies so training could be a little more...stimulating." She bowed her head down, awaiting his harsh words.

"So the exercises I gave you were not stimulating enough?" he asked sharply.

"N-no," she stuttered. "I mean...well...maybe a little..." She sighed. "We got a little impatient, sensei. Forgive us."

"Hmm." Splinter stroked his beard while pacing the length of the floor. "I forgive you," he said at last.

All the turtles looked up hopefully. Even Ahnnie. "Thank you, sensei," she said gratefully.

"But there is work to be done," he added. "The dojo is a mess. Apparently, someone stabbed a hole into one of the dummies. That person can do the repairs."

Raphael looked away guiltily.

"And the living room could use a little cleaning as well," Splinter continued. "So do the bathroom and the bunks..."

"But that'd take forever!" Raph protested.

Splinter looked his way. "Ah, but wouldn't that teach you to be more patient?" Without letting them answer, he waved them away. "Dismissed. Go and do your duties."

* * *

Ahnnie was the one left to clean the dojo and reattach the dummies (after all, she animated them). The one Raphael stabbed was in the living room with him, where he painstakingly tried to sew the hole shut with uncrafty turtle fingers. The others were off cleaning the designated areas, and so far the dojo was silent; April had been excused to sit in the kitchen while the rest of them worked.

After dusting up the last bit of stuffing, Ahnnie got up and walked over to a shelf that was on the dojo wall, to see if it needed any cleaning. From far away, it looked like a normal shelf, with a picture, some candles, a small pot in front of the picture, and strange globular Japanese dolls. The closer she got, though, the more she realized it wasn't a regular shelf.

It was an altar.

Ahnnie stopped short of it, wondering what an altar was doing here in the sewers. It was the traditional Asian kind, one she'd recognize anywhere, as every Asian home was not complete with out it. But to have one meant that you had ancestors to honor...or a deceased family member to remember.

_Did someone die?_

She came closer, and peered into the picture. There was a man, a woman, and a baby; the man and woman were in traditional kimonos. _Japanese people. _

The first conclusion she came to was that they were Splinter's relations. She'd heard of how the turtles and their sensei were mutated, so it wasn't an outlandish thought to think. Maybe Splinter had family before he came to New York...although she hadn't heard of how he came...and they had died, or something. Or maybe...

_Maybe the man in the picture _is _Splinter-sensei._

But how? He was still alive. Why would he put a picture of himself on the altar?

She shook her head. No, now was not the time to be prying into people's personal business. She had a duty to do, and that was to clean. She inspected the shelf for a brief moment, and seeing that it had no dust, decided to leave. But then she felt a pang of guilt.

_That's no way to honor the dead. _

She exited the dojo for a moment, coming back seconds later with two thin sticks of wood in her hands. Using her innate magic, she lit the tips of the sticks with just a swipe of her finger and then blew the flames out. The wood was still smoking, which was what she needed. _They're just m__osquito-warding sticks, _she thought, _not real incense sticks. But I hope they don't mind._

Holding the sticks from the bottom in between her pressed-together palms, she bowed twice. The smoke bounced and drifted in her face, but she ignored it and planted the sticks into the sand in the pot in front of the picture. "_Nam mô A di_ _đà Phật_," she said softly while bowing once more.

Then she exited the room, leaving the smoke to drift lazily in front of the picture of a younger Splinter-sensei, Tang Shen, and Miwa.

* * *

**After-Story Extra:**

_Question: _What other hip song is Ahnnie afraid of?

Raphael decides to find out.

Raph: Hey, Ahnnie!

Ahnnie: What?

Raph: (makes his hands into fists, crosses his wrists, goes into horse rider position) Op...Op..._O__ppa Gangnam Style!_

Ahnnie: _Nooooooo!_

* * *

A few examples of the music Ahnnie listened to:

**Hai Mùa Mưa** and **Tím Cả Chiều Hoang **by **Bảo Tuấn**

**Buồn Con Sáo Sậu **and **Điệu Buồn Trên Sông **by **Quốc Đại**

**Trương Chi Mị Nương/Chuyện Tình Bên Nhánh Sông Gầy **by **Như Quỳnh **and** Lâm Nhật Tiến**


	6. Chapter 6

**I forgot to mention, Ahnnie and her siblings are OC's that travel through lots of different media (Avatar: Last Airbender, Naruto, Land Before Time, etc.) so that is why you see some mentions of them. Sorry if any of it confused you before ^^.**

* * *

"Smell me, bro." Michelangelo lifted an armpit.

Raphael jerked away. "No way!"

Donatello raised an eyebrow. "Why would we do that, Mikey?"

The turtle brothers were settling in their bunks, getting ready for some sleep. They all showered before they went to bed, and this was one of the rare occasions that Michelangelo bathed, but they weren't prepared to take any chances on him.

"Can't you see? I'm different now," Mikey insisted.

"Um, how?" Raphael asked.

"C'mon, sniff!"

"No!"

Leonardo leaned over and bravely took a whiff, just to get it over with. He looked surprised. "Hey...you don't really smell that bad!"

The orange-masked turtle took off his mask with a beaming smile. "Yup! It's Gentle Lavender, Tropical Kiwi, and Rose Cream."

The rest of them were confused until they remembered what those scents were: Ahnnie's shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.

"So you just used Ahnnie's stuff?" Raphael asked incredulously, unable to bring himself to say either three of those words. "How could you? You don't even have hair!"

Michelangelo rubbed the top of his green-skinned head. "Hey, it didn't hurt to put some on me. And I think my skin is softer now, thanks to the conditioner." He smiled again.

Donatello shook his head in exasperation. "Oh Mikey...when she figures it out..."

And her timing was spot-on. "Hey guys?" Ahnnie asked, her head poking through the doorway. "I have something I want to talk about..."

"It was him!" Raphael immediately called out, pointing at Michelangelo accusingly. "He used your shampoo and stuff!"

Ahnnie blinked. "Um...ok..."

Leonardo swatted Raphael's arm. "Er, sorry about that," Leo apologized to her. "Please forget what he said."

"Hopefully, you're not scarred for life," Donatello added.

Ahnnie chuckled nervously. "Yeah...anyways...the thing I was talking about?"

"Right, right," Leonardo nodded, remembering. He looked around for a place in which to offer her a seat, but she sat down anyway next to Mikey on the lower bunk.

Donatello cleared his throat. "So. What is it you wanted to say?"

Ahnnie sighed. "Well-"

"Nooo!" Michelangelo interrupted. "You can't have only three months left to live! Tell me it's not true!"

She blinked. "It's not true. Look, can I just get on with this? Uninterrupted?"

Leonardo chuckled nervously. "Eheh...of course, go ahead. Mikey's just being hyper."

Ahnnie nodded. "Ok. Good. What I was trying to say is, I want to help spy for you. Or something like that." When she saw their blank faces, she continued, "Hey, 'cause I was just thinking, sometimes you might need a human's help on the surface and while I'm here, I might as well help. What do you think? I could scout around and give you intel on your enemies. I could also get you groceries, supplies, tools..."

"Pizza?" Mikey asked.

"Sometimes pizza," Ahnnie agreed, but with an emphasis on 'sometimes'.

Leonardo frowned. "But it's dangerous for you," he said. "We'd appreciate it, but we wouldn't want you to get in trouble with the _DAWN_."

"April can help us with that stuff," Donnie added. "So don't worry."

Ahnnie didn't look satisfied, though. "Well, I was also thinking, the chance of the _BAN MAI _recognizing me might be lower than before I came here; after all, I have a safe place to eat and sleep, and even bathe. If the _BAN MAI _are going to be looking for someone who's been lost in the city for a week, they would obviously catch onto anyone who looks homeless. I also have the chance to change my clothes here, so I'm safe as long as I don't wear what I wore the day I got lost.

"And I know April can help you with surface matters, but she's only available when she gets out of school. I don't go to school (at least, technically), and I'm pretty much here with you guys most of the time." She let it sink in before concluding, "So, I can go topside anytime you need me to. Hey, don't look at me like that! I want to help, honest. It just bothers me that I can't do anything for you guys."

Donatello looked thoughtful. "Well...if you put it that way..."

But before Raph or Mikey could chime in with their opinions, Leonardo abruptly said, "I still don't know about it. I mean, I understand your reasoning, but it's still a big risk to take. What if something were to happen to you?"

"When did Leo become the mom?" Ahnnie heard Raphael whisper to Michelangelo.

But she ignored it and continued to insist against Leo. "I'm glad you're concerned about me, but I want to make the most of the shelter you're offering me. I promise, if something happens to me, it won't happen to you."

"No, that's not what I meant-"

"In other words," Raphael interrupted loudly, "Ahnnie's getting cabin fever and wants to go out for some fresh air." He tilted his head at her and cocked an eyebrow pointedly.

She was silent for a while, before nodding demurely. "He's half-right," she acknowledged.

That didn't make any sense to Leonardo, though; she'd only been in their lair for a few days, so how could she get cabin fever so fast? And anyway, shouldn't she be thinking about her safety more than her gratitude?

But what applied as reasonable to Leo did not exactly apply as the same to Ahnnie. Truth be told, despite her patience, she was never one to be stuck in one place for an amount of time; especially underground. Her life had been spent adventuring to distant lands and places, where she had free rein of herself to do whatever she wanted...in the very least, if she were to be stuck in New York City, she should be able to go out once or twice even if just to see the sky.

That, and she wanted to repay their kindness. Yes, can't forget that one.

"Yeah, Leo," Mikey suddenly chimed in. "Don't you think it's unfair that we get to go out every night, and she has to stay inside? How do you think _she _feels?"

That surprised everybody in the room, for Mikey was thinking rather deeply this night.

Ahnnie looked uncomfortable. "Well, that's not how I see it. I don't mind staying inside...but you know...like I said before..." She was stuttering now, unable to find the right words to express herself.

Leonardo finally sighed. "Fine."

Her face lit up at the word, and Leo had a feeling that her expression could be akin to that of a bird being set free. "I promise I won't disappoint you!" she said, suddenly sounding eager and innocent, the way a child would be.

He decided he didn't dislike the way she smiled. "But we should take it slowly," he added carefully, not wanting to disappoint her. "Just to test the waters."

"Of course," she agreed. "I could go with you the next time you head to the surface."

Donatello nodded. "Yeah! That'd be a great first step."

"So it's settled," she said with finality, and then left for the living room to sleep on the couch.

* * *

The next night, Leonardo was able to see how excited Ahnnie was to just get a whiff of surface air. After everyone had dinner, she headed to her backpack and prepared herself by putting on a light gray jacket and black silk-and-leather knee high boots that were made so every step she took was practically soundless. She wore the old backpack too, "Just in case," she'd said, because she was so used to bringing her purse along every time she stepped outside.

Even though she was still in her pajamas, there was a marked difference in her appearance once the jacket and boots were slapped on. She looked more _ready_, more adventurous. The effect was heightened by the way she held onto the backpack straps. And her face was lit into one of the brightest smiles ever, something Leo found more and more likable.

"Ok! I'm ready," she declared.

Donatello smiled. "That's great," he said. "Now, let's go."

The turtles grabbed their skateboards; for that was what they were going to do, skateboard; and rolled out of the lair into the subway route beyond. Ahnnie usually walked at a fast pace, but found that she had to jog to catch up with the skateboard mounted turtles. She didn't mind, though; the very thought of heading up to the surface again seemed to have made her happy enough to even run after them if she had to.

After passing through the sewer part of the route (and almost throwing up again), Ahnnie found herself at the moment she'd been waiting for. Raphael threw the manhole cover off and the turtles filed one-by-one out of the hole, with Ahnnie being the last. She gladly accepted some help from Leonardo's arm and then finally heaved herself up onto the lamplit street.

As Michelangelo was putting the cover back, the black haired girl looked up to the sky and drank in the air with a big inhalation. "Ahh," she exhaled. _Fresh air at last..._

"To the roofs," Raphael said with a tap on her shoulder as the turtles were scrambling up a building. "Last one up is a rotten egg!"

Ahnnie whirled around swiftly. "Huh?" She headed after them. "Why the roofs?" But she didn't ask because she couldn't climb; in fact, she was able to propel herself with one leap up to the roof of the nearest building.

"Well, we can't exactly walk down the streets," Leonardo explained after he'd heaved himself up to join her. "It's not so hard to figure out why."

"Ah," she said with a nod. But she didn't seem to be paying attention to him; her eyes were up on the sky.

He head to clear his throat to get her attention. "C'mon."

Ahnnie turned around again; all four turtles were already on the roof, waiting for her. "Oh! Right."

They began to roof hop from there, and Ahnnie proved herself to be quite an adaptable roof-hopper. She caught up with them every step of the way, not questioning their destination. When at last there was a spot that they deemed safe, all five of them leapt down, the turtles running up the steps to a certain building while Ahnnie stayed standing where she landed, looking around the area for any immediate danger.

"Hey, guys," she was saying, but then she was interrupted by Raphael, who was grinding down the stairway's rails professionally. As he jumped off, he almost hit her, but she dodged in time.

Raphael came to a coasting stop. "Bet you can't do it, Mikey," he teased.

"Oh yeah!?" Mikey called out from the top of the stairs.

Ahnnie tilted her head curiously, and headed up the stairs to join Leo, Mikey, and Donnie. "So, you guys can skateboard?"

Leonardo gestured to his skateboard. "Why else did we bring these?"

She laughed at herself. "How stupid of me. So, um, I was just going to say that everything seems all right out here."

Donatello nodded. "We know."

Ahnnie looked around at the lamps, the pavement, Raphael heading back up towards them, and Mikey preparing to grind the rails. She shrugged, and stood behind Leo to watch Mikey. "Oh no!" she exclaimed when it looked as though the orange-masked turtle was going to fall; but then he righted himself and landed safely on the ground, bringing his board around in a swift turn.

"My turn," Leo called out, with only a brief look back at Ahnnie and the others before heading up to the rail himself. He finished the grind more smoothly than even Raph or Mikey, and teased them about it as he rolled past them.

Ahnnie clapped as he went by; he beamed a smile at her.

Raphael came at her back, smirking mischievously. "You want a try?"

She shook her head. "No thanks."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't-" Raphael suddenly pushed her onto his skateboard, and the momentum sent her rolling down the side ramp. "-skatebooooaaaaarrrdd!"

At the end of the ramp, her footing slipped and she fell off the board rather tumultuously. What happened was that she couldn't stop herself from running into the nearest streetlamp, tried to jump off the board to avoid it, and ended up falling on her left side while the board coasted away.

Leonardo, Donnie, and Mikey turned around and glared accusingly at Raphael.

Raph shrugged. "On the bright side, at least she didn't fall on her face."

"Ha-ha, very funny," Ahnnie grumbled as she got up off the ground. She tested her arm for a bit, and seeing it was still ok, she headed out to the street to fetch Raphael's skateboard. She came back with it, but stood below the stairs with the board at her feet instead of bringing it up to him. Her pointed look showed that Raphael would have to go get it himself.

The red-masked turtle didn't seem to mind, but just as he was getting back up again, he asked her: "You seriously don't know how to skateboard?"

"What, does April know how?"

"Don't you?"

"No."

He frowned. "Well, you're no fun."

That remark got to her. The others except for Raphael could see how her expression changed; from confusion to shock to something between incredulity and insult.

"No fun, huh?" she asked, her arms crossed.

"Yeah, you're the most boring teenager I've ever known," Raph added. "Even April is more fun than you."

Donnie, seeing the tension between them, picked up his skateboard and loudly said, "Ok, guess it's my turn!" He waited until Ahnnie was off to the side before grinding the rail.

And when he was almost done, when his board was just a quarter of an inch away from the rail's end...

Ahnnie snapped her fingers and a golden, sparkly light enveloped his skateboard.

"Huh?" Donnie asked. Then, "What is-aaaaaAAAAAHH!" as his skateboard suddenly zoomed away up into the air, leaving a trail of phosphorus golden dust.

His brothers stared after him in shock. When it seemed as though Donatello would be borne away from them, farther out above the city, he turned back in a light drift and sped above their heads. This time, instead of screaming, he was whooping.

"Woo hoo! Yeaaah!" he exclaimed.

The more he flew, the more the purple-masked turtle found he could control his skateboard by adding or reducing pressure from both feet, and to turn he just had to swivel his body in the direction he wanted to go. He was surprised to find that his feet stuck onto the board even though there was nothing solid below to hold them together, but hey, when you're having fun, you don't notice that stuff for long.

Ahnnie held out her hand in an inviting gesture. "Who's next?"

Mikey was the first to jump at the chance, and as he was grinding down the rail Ahnnie snapped her fingers again and the orange-masked turtle was airborne. She watched as he flew in the same arc as Donnie, became pleasantly surprised when she saw him discover how to keep his balance, and then turned around to make a little raspberry at Raphael.

"Who's not fun now?" she asked teasingly, and then ran backwards a few steps. Then she ran forward, and when she jumped, she; to Leo and Raph's amazement; zipped away into the air just like Michelangelo and Donatello did. Only without the skateboard.

She was lost in the midst of Mikey and Donnie's flying forms after a while, and try as they might, they couldn't spot her. Leo was beginning to grow concerned when he saw her last-minute behind Raphael, pushing his back gently. He too got a ride on his skateboard midair after that, and much to his later humiliation he was screaming his head off in the first few moments of takeoff. But he relaxed seconds later and had just as much fun as the other two did.

"You want to have a turn?" Ahnnie asked, snapping Leonardo back to reality; he'd been watching Raphael anxiously.

"Oh, uh..." Leonardo scratched the back of his neck. "I don't know..."

She laughed. "Our roles are reversed. Aren't I the one who's usually being uncertain?"

Leo chuckled along. "Well, it's not that I'm afraid or anything."

"Don't worry, I made sure the wind supported their backs when I set them flying. The spell uses magic to hold the feet to the board, like on a snowboard, so you won't fall off anyway. You could even go upside down if you wanted to."

"What about you?" he asked. "How do you do it without a skateboard?"

"That's another one of my abilities," she said. "I spent some time on Neverland to learn it. Do you know Neverland?" When she saw his confused look, she added, "Second star to the right and straight on till morning?" Then, "Peter Pan?"

His face lit up in recognition. "Splinter told us that story once. Wait...you've been to Neverland? How is that possible?"

She waved the matter away. "I'll explain later." Moving forward, she quickly took up his hand. "Come on, give it a try; it's real fun, I promise."

Leo shrugged. "If you say so."

"Ready?" Ahnnie asked, although it was more of an initiation than a question. "One, two, three..."

She tightened the grip on his hand, drew it back, and then gave such a push Leonardo originally thought impossible for a girl her size to give. He guessed it was the magic, and barely took in a gulp of breath as he was being thrust forward into the air. It wasn't until he bent down slightly to turn the flying board around that he felt he could breathe again, and when he did, his face slowly spread into a look of delight.

It was wonderful. The cool, rushing air, the speed of the skateboard, the thrills and adrenaline; it was way better than all roof-hopping and regular skateboarding in the world. He could see the buildings below, and while it wasn't the entire city, there was the distinct feeling that somehow he was at the top of the world. Goosebumps spread all over his skin but instead of cringing he savored the energy it brought him.

"Didn't I tell you it was fun?" Ahnnie yelled out from a few feet away. Higher up, the winds blew faster, thus making it harder for them to hear each other.

Leonardo just raised a thumbs-up in the air and swooped down below her in a casual arc. Then he decided to try it; going upside-down.

He bent forward, gaining acceleration and going downwards at the same time. He went down low enough to touch the top of the streetlamps if he wanted to. Then, before he could crash into those streetlamps, he tilted himself slightly backwards, putting pressure onto his back foot, and slowly went back up. Instead of staying level he continued to arc upwards until he was upside down.

"Hey, look who figured it out!" He heard Ahnnie yelling.

Then he also heard Raphael's laughing. "You're...after all...better watch this," was all he heard from him, though.

And that was right before his red-masked brother barreled into him, making him spin like a pinwheel in the air.

When he righted himself again, he was terribly dizzy. Instead of being at the top of the world, he was teetering on it, and he was afraid for a split second that he would fall off his floating skateboard. But after a while, he realized what Ahnnie said was right; that the magic would hold his feet; and when he regained his composure he zoomed after Raphael. "You're gonna pay for that!" he promised. The threat was made half-playfully, half-seriously.

Raphael, seeing that, zipped away as well into what would become one of their most exciting cat-and-mouse chases. Donatello and Michelangelo, seeing their brothers fly farther than they had anticipated, looked at each other briefly before rushing after them. That left Ahnnie, and when she realized she was being left behind, she flew after them too.

"Heyyy, waaiiit!" she called, holding onto her backpack as she went.

She had no idea of how many streets they passed or how many buildings they flew over, but Ahnnie did know that as the chase went on it eventually became a race. Raphael tried to stay ahead of Leonardo, while Donatello and Michelangelo were pushing at each other to get to first place. Ahnnie herself was just trying to catch up with the four of them, and saved them several times from smashing face-first into tall buildings by shouting out warnings.

They were truly starting to enjoy themselves, still racing but no longer focusing on winning or losing. It was just all-out flying at high speeds. Ahnnie was no longer concerned with being left behind; she found that just flying with them was fun enough already. It took a lot of her mind off the fact that she was separated from her family and the _BAN MAI _and all that stuff.

"You're it!" Mikey called out as he swooped by her, hitting her arm.

"Oh yeah?" she challenged, and raced after him. Then she went after Donnie, who did his best to avoid her at all costs. Eventually she caught Leo and he was intent on going after Raph...

"Hey, guys?" Mikey said, worry in his voice. "I think that's a helicopter!"

The other four paused midflight, with Ahnnie hovering perfectly still midair and the others still caught in their momentum.

The magician girl narrowed her eyes on the shining object Michelangelo saw, and widened them when she confirmed his suspicions. "Not just a helicopter; a news helicopter! And it's coming this way!" She turned frantically to the turtles. "Quick, guys, down there!"

"Where?" Raphael asked, but she was already diving down in search of safety.

Leonardo came in beside him. "No more time! Let's go," he urged his brothers. They quickly went after Ahnnie; whether it was because she knew where to go or they were just too panicked to find their own way; and found safety on the roof of a building that had a canopy covering half of it. Potted plants lay everywhere and they tried not to knock any over as they made a rather tumultuous landing.

"In here, guys," she beckoned them, even coming forward to pull Mikey and Raph in.

"So," Raphael said, breaking the nerve-wracking silence. "When can we get out?"

"Wait," Ahnnie hissed, and tilted her head to listen to the helicopter outside.

The beat of the propellers came dangerously close, obviously directly overhead of where they were hiding. No light shone down, though, and the sound of the propellers quickly faded away. When everything was quiet again, Ahnnie gave a relieved sigh and said, "Ok, the coast is clear now."

"Man!" Mikey exclaimed as he went out from under the canopy. "That was scary!" His knees suddenly wobbled, and he let himself fall onto his bottom. "Why do I feel so tired...?"

"Maybe because you were so busy chickening out?" Raphael suggested sarcastically; but then he, too, nearly fell over. "What the!?"

Ahnnie plopped down beside them after pushing away some of the potted plants to make room. "No, it's because you were flying so fast on your skateboards."

"I see," Donatello said as he also took a seat. "It's like jet lag, but in a shorter time span."

Ahnnie nodded.

Leonardo took a weary huff and settled down too; they were all in a circle now.

Michelangelo leaned back so that he was laying on his shell, his arms crossed behind him to pillow his head. "_Aaah,_" he sighed, "but it sure was fun! Have you ever gone so fast on a skateboard before? If I weren't pooped out, I'd do it again!"

"Me too," Raphael agreed, patting his skateboard lightly.

Ahnnie smiled. "Glad you liked it."

Above in the sky, the clouds drifted slowly across a sliver of white light. As they floated away, they revealed the moon, shining in blue-white brilliance; even if it was just a half moon.

"Ooh, ooh!" Mikey exclaimed. "Look guys, the moon's out!"

"And that's enough to excite you?" Raphael mumbled.

Leonardo laughed. "C'mon, Mikey, is that all? The moon's always out."

"Not really," Donatello interrupted. "The moon's bright side only appears once every month; it comes in different phases, which last for a certain amount of days, such as new moon and-"

"It's pretty," Ahnnie finished, a wistful tone in her voice.

Michelangelo nodded sagely. "Unlike some people, I appreciate a good night sky too."

She sighed a little sadly. "It's missing the stars, though."

Michelangelo held up his index finger to count the stars. "No it isn't; there's three of them."

Ahnnie made a noise between a chortle and a snort. "Three? That's not the real thing. What you need is millions and millions of stars. You can't see them in the city, though, because of the lamps and other light."

"There are that many stars?" Mikey asked, flabbergasted.

"More than that, in fact," Donatello said. "There are many that we can't even see. But Ahnnie's right, because of the city lights, we can't see a lot of them."

"When I lived on the mountains," she continued, "I saw them every night, moon or no moon. They practically covered the entire sky. It was beautiful to see...and when the moon was out, 'specially the full moon..." She shook her head. "This sky can't even compare."

"Whooaah..." Mikey oohed.

"It's not just the mountains or countryside," Ahnnie said. "Go to any place with no lamps or electric light, and you'll see them; unless it's a cloudy night, of course. I've seen the stars dozens of times on my adventures." She scratched the back of her neck nervously. "Well, 'cause I tend to choose places with little to no people. Heh."

"So that's why you need help when you're in a place with people," Raphael concluded.

She shrugged. "Not exactly...but in a place like New York City...yeah."

Leonardo frowned, fidgeted, and finally relaxed in position with his fingers tapping the rooftop cement. "About your adventures...you never got to tell us what they're like."

Ahnnie looked at them. "Have you asked to hear about them?"

"Twice." He matched her gaze. "That one time outside the lair, and that other time when I was training with you..."

Mikey, Raph, and Donnie apparently hadn't heard of any of this. They looked confusedly from Leonardo to Ahnnie, silent but obviously thinking thoughts.

"Oh," Ahnnie nodded, remembering. "I remember. We were interrupted." A thoughtful look crossed her face. "I suppose I can tell you now. They're not anything to be embarrassed about. But does everyone want to hear, or just Leo?"

"Go ahead," Donatello said.

"Yeah, I want to hear," Mikey added.

Raphael shrugged. "Eh, since I'm already here, I might as well listen."

She stretched her legs and reclined backwards with her hands as support. "Let's see...where do I begin?"

Ahnnie then decided to tell them of her most memorable adventures. Because if they were memorable, well, she remembered them better. The very first one they all heard was when she was six, and discovered the power her imagination held; she was playing in the field beside her elementary school's playground alone with a ball, when the ball rolled into the neighboring forest. She went in to retrieve it and when she found it...

"The scenery was different," she said. "Instead of leaves and trees and bushes, it was all grass and open sky...and guess what? There were dinosaurs all over the place."

She eventually got to the part when she came to know five young dinosaurs, made friends with them, and explored the Great Valley; for that was what the valley was called; and returned safely home, only to come back to the Great Valley the next day and continue playing with her new friends. Her escapades began to grow longer as those friends went on adventures in their world, past the Mysterious Beyond (a canyon beyond the Valley).

Those adventures eventually gave way to new ones, and new friends. They also introduced the magic such as she currently used, like when in Neverland she and her sister ("My little brother wasn't born yet," she explained) fought Captain Hook, stole his magical golden rope, and divided it amongst themselves. Then of when she first acquired her ship, the _Imaginarium, _and went on a treasure hunt that spanned the Pacific Ocean. It went on to the forging of her Dragon-Spirit katana in the Temple of the North Sea. Her favorite trips were the ones to the Santa Village, a town located in the North Pole (and thus far undiscovered by other people) where Santa Claus and his factory was located.

As she grew older, though, her adventures grew a little darker. This was when she was noticing the world around her. Inevitable injuries were becoming more prominent, as well as bloodier fights and deadlier enemies..."But I believe it was a result of the places I chose to go, and the people I chose to fight," she explained. "Before that, I'd only been keeping myself in fairytale-like places. I suppose I didn't want to be sheltered by my childhood anymore. I wanted to see where my imagination would take me as I grew older, instead of abandoning it like most people do when they come of age."

But still, her friendships and bonds were strong, and they were what kept her going through all the turbulent times of her family's troubles. She came to finish at one of her more recent adventures, where she'd investigated the death of a court official with some of her friends.

"You sure go places," Leo remarked at the end, more than a little envy in his voice.

"I suppose," she shrugged. "I guess now you can see why I don't like being cooped up for too long. Going places...and doing things...they help take my mind off of stress." She paused for such a long time that the turtles started to wonder if she fell asleep. "And other things," she finally said, reassuring them of her wakefulness.

"I don't know about you," Raphael said after a while, "but I feel like going somewhere."

"Where?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe someplace...where we can get pizza?"

Michelangelo shot upwards as if someone had put a flaming brand on his head. "Ooh, pizza!"

Donatello and Leonardo were nodding and murmuring their assents as well. Only Ahnnie seemed against it.

"We had dinner already," she protested. "And Splinter wouldn't want us returning so late...besides, what kind of pizza place is still open at this hour?"

"A New York City pizza place," Raphael inferred, and got up from his seat. "And I know just the person who can get some for us."

As they were all standing up, Ahnnie tilted her head in confusion. "Who? None of you are fit to just waltz into a pizzeria and order up. No offense."

Their heads all turned towards Ahnnie.

"Oh yeah," she murmured. "Me." After a while, she shook her head. "No, no way, I'm not ordering you any pizza this late."

"You said you would help us on the surface," Mikey reminded her.

"Aren't you grateful that we offered you shelter?" Donatello added.

"It's the least you could do," Leonardo finished.

"The least I can do is keep you healthy," she argued. But it was a rather weak argument; none of them seemed ready to listen. "Eating pizza too much is not good for your body! You're half-turtle, too, don't turtles eat lettuce? Come on...seriously...what would April say?"

Raphael cleared his throat and spoke in a highly mocking falsetto voice: "Sure, Donnie, I'll get you some pizza! I love you so much! Mwah mwah mwah!"

Donatello blushed. "N-no...She wouldn't say it like that..."

"Yeah she would," Raphael snickered, and he and Mikey made teasing kissy faces at the same time.

"Guys!" Ahnnie yelled, snapping them out of it. "This is a little unbalanced, isn't it? Four turtles to one...human...can't we just go back to the lair?"

They looked at her with blank expressions, and all their hands shot up. "Majority of the vote says no," Raphael said at last. "So; you know what to do."

* * *

The pizzeria they chose was, indeed, open at a late hour. If they hadn't been running out of time, Ahnnie would have insisted that they prove to her the other pizzerias were open as late; but since they had little time left, she decided to suck it up and buy pizza for them. They all rushed in with all of their favorite toppings, what kind of crust, and how much cheese to put on, then pushed her out to order up for them.

As she was walking into the pizzeria, she was also counting her money. _A hundred and seventeen dollars, plus eighty-nine cents...it's more than enough, but this is going to eat a sizable chunk out of it. _

_Oh, well, whatever. I suppose they do deserve pizza now and then._

_But at my expense? Why?_

_Because you said so, Ahnnie. Could you be any more of a fool?_

She dismissed the thought, though, and bravely stepped up to the counter.

Meanwhile, outside, the turtles were watching from the rooftop of a building just across the street. They had discussed how Ahnnie would exit and bring the pizza to them, and it was this:

Ahnnie would order the pizza. She would wait for it to be done; roughly fifteen minutes, if all the pizzas were cooked at the same time. Then she would walk out, turn left, and go down two buildings. They would follow her on the rooftops. After turning left again, she would sneak into a nearby alley and fly up from there with the pizza. Then, when she joined them, it was only a matter of handing the pizza over.

Back to Ahnnie; she had just placed the order (which totaled up to four whole boxes, each with the turtles' individual favorite toppings), paid for it, and was waiting inside for it to be done. There were chairs where the customers could sit, so she was quite snug in one of them, having chosen one with a view of the counter and the door. The pizzeria seemed a little cold, so she crossed her arms as she sat.

A yawn escaped her lips. She stifled the next one, snuggled deeper into her chair, and continued to cross her arms. Eventually, she was comfortable enough to slump. Her head ducked down, and her eyelids drooped...

"Ma'am. Ma'am? Your pizza's ready."

She immediately jolted awake, startled by the strange voice. Then she remembered where she was. "Oh, yes...thank you." She held out her arms for the man to stack the boxes up and gave him a tired smile. "Have a good night."

"You too."

Ahnnie left, not without a little magic to help her, especially at the door. She used a small gust of wind to open it for her because her arms were busy holding up the boxes, but the cashier was at her back and could not have seen it.

She exited the pizzeria as expected, and the turtles above her began to move out. As she went along the designated path, she yawned about four times, each time making her a little more woozy than the other. She reached the alley, though, and began to float lazily up. As promised, the turtles were waiting expectantly on the roof of the building, and they came forward to take the boxes from her the moment she set her feet down.

"We knew we could trust you," Donatello said.

Michelangelo sniffed one of the boxes deeply. "Ahh," he sighed. "That's mine, right there."

Leonardo opened up his box. "Thanks, Ahnnie," he said happily.

Ahnnie yawned. "No problem." She headed over to a corner, slid her backpack off, and laid down with her head on it like a pillow. "Just wake me up when you're finished."

And so they ate while she slept, enjoying and talking and joking at the same time. It was a little uncertain as to how long they stayed that way, but Ahnnie knew when Raphael was jabbing her awake that it had been more than twenty minutes. _I hope Splinter-sensei doesn't mind, _she thought drowsily.

"C'mon, we're heading back to the lair," Leo said.

"Just what I wanted to hear," Ahnnie remarked to herself.

They set off again, leaving the pizza boxes on the roof (and they were quite surprised to see Ahnnie act ok about it, so they asked her why. "Well, it's not the lair, and it's not my house, so it's fine," she'd answered a little grumpily). The cold night air helped Ahnnie regain a little of her senses, and she was drinking in the air thirstily again. _Fresh, surface air..._

Suddenly, Leo made them stop. The turtles halted behind him, with Ahnnie almost bumping into them. "What?" she asked.

"Do you hear that?" Leonardo asked.

They all listened.

From below, they could hear someone pleading and begging. Then came the sounds of punches and kicks, as well as groans of pain.

"Someone is being attacked," Donatello answered.

Raphael looked down at the alley. He wolf-whistled. "Well, if it ain't the Purple Dragons mugging someone. But it is!"

Ahnnie was confused. "Purple Dragons?"

"They're a gang," Leo explained. "We fight them from time to time."

"Technically, we only fight three of their members," Donatello added. "But yeah. They're like casual enemies."

"And we're gonna fight them tonight!" Mikey said cheerfully.

Ahnnie stepped up next to Raph, examining the alley. She scowled. "We don't have time for this. Leave them be. Let's go back to the lair."

The turtles all looked at her in shock.

"Are you serious?" Raphael asked. "There's someone being mugged down there!"

"So?"

Donatello came in and said slowly, as if she were a dumb child, "So, we have to rescue that guy."

"And waste our time?" She looked down at the alley again. "I bet you a hundred dollars the guy they're fighting is from a rival gang. If not, he's someone who owed them, or just had the bad luck to be out at this time. Clearly, it's his own stupidity that's put him there in the first place. So why should we waste the time to rescue him? Maybe he deserved it."

Silence.

"What?" she asked. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Leonardo shook his head. "Look, I know you're sleepy, but this is something serious. The lair can wait, and I'm not going to stand here and argue any longer while someone innocent is being hurt. Let's go, guys."

Ahnnie bit her lip, and sighed. "Well, since you're going in, I might as well help-"

"No need," Raphael said. "We can handle them without magic. Trust us."

She frowned, but Mikey added, "Don't worry, we really can handle this. Just watch!"

And so she stood back, standing on the roof, while the turtles leapt down to rescue the poor man from the grasp of the Purple Dragons.

_To be continued..._


	7. Chapter 7

The appearance of the turtles certainly put an element of surprise into their attack. Fong, Tsoi, and Sid clearly had no idea of what was coming for them. The moment they heard the clash of Leonardo's katanas and the spinning whirr of Donatello's staff, they'd barely turned around when the armed turtles overcame them and the real fight began.

Leonardo, intent on showing Ahnnie that rescuing someone _wasn't _a complete waste of time, hurried over to the mugged man and helped him up. "Are you ok, sir?" he asked.

The man groaned, turned his head, and looked at Leo..."Aaaah! Monster!" he yelled, and scrambled to get away from him. When he found his footing, he immediately ran away.

Ahnnie, from above, almost snickered but kept it to herself.

"The turtles, again!" Fong yelled out in frustration. "How many times are they going to ruin our-"

He had no time to complete his sentence, as Raphael threw a punch at his face that he barely dodged. "As many times as we like!" he spat.

Mikey and Donnie were taking Sid on at the same time, while Leo was clashing with Tsoi. Despite the fact that the turtles had weapons, and the Purple Dragons didn't, the fight seemed to drag on for a good while.

Ahnnie frowned, watching it closely. _No way, _she thought. _They're not going easy on them, are they? At this rate, there should have been a few stabs or slashes..._

Indeed, the more they fought, the more it resembled a street fight than armed combat. The truth was then confirmed.

"_They're like casual enemies,_" she remembered Donatello saying.

_I suppose, _she thought. _Even I don't go full out on Captain Hook...doing so would be too boring..._ So they were fighting the Purple Dragons for fun as well as duty. She could relate with that.

A new development appeared when Leo and Fong began to face off with each other and the blue-masked turtle was cornering him in. He'd discovered that Fong had stolen something from the mugged man, and was demanding for him to give it back. Fong truly seemed helpless now, unable to block himself from the inevitable attack. Tsoi and Sid had already rushed off, much to the remaining Dragon's chagrin.

Ahnnie sighed. _Let me guess, he hands it over, runs away and makes it clear that "This isn't the last you've seen of me!" or something like that._

But before her prediction could be carried out, she saw Fong reaching for something at his back. No, at his back pocket; Ahnnie peered in closer, unable to see clearly in the dark. She saw him withdraw it slightly, something with a dull black handle.

That put her to mind of something she'd seen once before, while she and her siblings were at home alone. There was a man in the forest behind their house, and he was walking and yelling to himself...he was also holding something, but they weren't sure of what it was. Ahnnie used a pair of binoculars to see it more clearly, and when she did, she was completely surprised.

"_Oh my god,_" she had said, "_that man...he's holding a-_"

"...a gun," Ahnnie finished softly to herself. She shook her head. "No, I have to warn them!"

But she saw no way of doing it without surprising Fong and making him open fire anyway. Unless...

She straightened up, preparing her magic. She had to do it quick, or there would be no more time. Pinkish crystal began to gather at the base of her fingertips, crawling upwards to engulf her entire hand. Then she jumped, going down in a dive like a heron diving for its prey, her target being Fong.

Leonardo was about to make a swipe with his katana, when Ahnnie suddenly fell onto Fong, barreling him over. The turtles were startled backwards as the two Asians collided, and watched dumbly as they wrestled on the ground, with Ahnnie being the one with the upper hand.

"Give it here!" she demanded, clawing her crystal covered hand into the gangster's sweaty gun-holding palm. He wouldn't relent, of course, and clung to it like a jealous lover. But Ahnnie was persistent, and her crystal glove; which was in no way smooth, but rough and jagged; dug into his tough skin as she sought to grab the gun away from him. He gave away as soon as he felt the sharp crystals' bite and the firearm was Ahnnie's for the taking.

When she'd taken the gun away, she pushed off of him by using his stomach as a launching pad. The move stunned him long enough for her to stand up and place a restraining foot on his chest. Breathless, she stood cradling the gun in both hands while looking down onto Fong's pain-etched face.

Her back was to the turtles, so they couldn't have seen what she carried. In fact, they misunderstood her sudden attack, as Raphael quickly came to show.

"What gives?" the red-masked turtle demanded angrily. "We said we could handle it! He was just about to give Leo that thing he stole-"

"Do you want to know what gives?" she snapped. She turned her head around, then her whole body (although she still kept a foot on Fong), and held the gun out with her crystal covered hand for them to see. As she spoke, the crystal slowly faded away. "This! This is what gives! He had a gun, and he was about to shoot you!"

The turtles were stunned speechless. It was easy to read from their expressions that in all their fights with the Purple Dragons, never once had guns been used.

"We..." Raphael started weakly. "We still could have taken him," he continued. "We've dodged Kraang laserfire before. And Leo could block-"

"Right, that old trick with the swords," Ahnnie cut him off. "But how effective would it have been against a surprise attack? Leo didn't know there was a gun. Neither did any of you. Sure, you could have taken him, but not without getting shot a few times. Or even losing some people."

She paused to let it all sink in, and was met with the right results.

"That's just wrong," Donatello muttered. "It's so...dishonorable..."

"Like cheating," Michelangelo added.

Leonardo didn't have to say anything to indicate that he agreed. His face was ashen and grim at the same time, like someone who had just accepted a hard truth. Raphael took the hardest hit, though, for he still seemed frustrated and in denial by the way he stared at the gun and Fong.

"I thought you should've known by now," Ahnnie said, and her voice seemed to only grow in hardness. "This is the modern age. And a gang is a gang. They use guns, for Pete's sake. They _always _do. I'm surprised he didn't use it on you sooner." Her gaze flickered down to Fong, and then back to the turtles. "What's not a surprise, though, is that he tried to pull off such a cowardly trick. People are like that; if they can't win, they cheat. End of story. Just because you fight with honor, doesn't mean your enemies do."

When she finished, she held the gun a little tighter and turned back to Fong. She slowly began to slide her foot off of him, but her eyes were on him, watching his every move. There was a tense moment as the tip of her boot was coming off his arm, and when it was completely off, he made to bolt. He was like a startled deer jumping at the chance of escape. And he would have, too...

...if Ahnnie didn't put the gun to his head.

Leonardo, seeing that, was snapped back into reality. "What are you doing?"

Fong had barely gotten off the ground, was just sitting up, when Ahnnie had stopped him. His eyes looked widely at his firearm, now aimed at him, and he began to frantically negotiate. "I-I'm sorry; here, here's the stuff I stole..." He threw some things out of his pocket: a watch, a wedding ring, a wallet, and a phone. "Take it. Take all of it! Just...spare me, please...let me go!"

But if she seemed moved by his pleas, she did not show it. She continued standing there, as if frozen in place, with the gun (whether cocked and ready, no one was sure) in her hand. Her finger was placed on the trigger and it seemed at any moment she might pull it and end Fong's life then and there. The longer she paused, the calmer she seemed to be. Fong, on the other hand, was starting to hyperventilate.

Donatello was also growing alarmed. "Ahnnie," he said, almost commanded, "put the gun down."

"Dude, he's not worth it!" Mikey added, practically yelling.

But Ahnnie wasn't listening to them. Her dark brown eyes assailed the gangster coldly without so much as a blink, and the gun still stayed where it was. "You want to know some of my philosophy?" Her voice was low and threatening.

Fong, shivering, asked, "Wh-what?"

"I'm quite sure you thought it would save you if you cheated and pulled out this gun. Didn't you?"

He nodded. "Y-yes..."

"And that Leonardo wouldn't seek to kill you, not even if you shot him?"

"Yes..."

She smiled. For a moment, Fong took that as a hopeful cue. "Well, here's how I do things," she continued. "When _my _enemy cheats..." She pressed the gun's nozzle deeper into his hair. "...I cheat too."

"No!" Fong yelled, clutching at the ground as though that would save him. "No! Please, I won't do it again!"

Raphael, apparently seeing this for the first time (as his mind had been so absorbed on the previous events), looked to Donnie and Leo confusedly for an answer. "Hey...she's not going to pull the trigger...is she?"

But Leonardo ignored him. He was rushing at Ahnnie instead. "Ahnnie, stop it!"

She saw him coming from the corner of her eye and put up her free hand, indicating for him to stop running. She then stood up slowly, as if it took her an effort to do; and while the gun left Fong's head, it was still pointed at him. Then, in an action that surprised them all, she dropped it. She dropped the gun, right next to Fong's hand.

The Purple Dragon scrambled to grab it but at that same time, Ahnnie's foot had come down faster. It was covered last-minute in the same kind of crystal she'd used as a glove, and when it made contact with the gun, there was a loud crunch. When she drew her foot away, she revealed the crushed remains of a gun. Nothing was whole, not even the bullets.

"Still haven't learned your lesson, huh?" she asked him as she crossed her arms. "Don't pretend to hide it with that face. I saw that grab."

Fong stared at her incomprehensibly for several moments, and then like a startled deer, bolted out of the alley. Unlike her earlier prediction, he didn't look back, much less say a few last words.

When he had gone, the alley was quiet. Ahnnie was still standing there watching the alley entrance, while the turtles stared at her back. The stolen possessions Fong had dumped out of his pocket lay useless on the ground. An incoming wind blew and scattered some of the shining, silvery dust that used to be the bullets about the alley floor.

Raphael broke the silence by picking up the phone, inspecting it for damage. "Um," he began, "I think we...I think we should return this stuff..."

There was more silence for a few seconds until Ahnnie stretched her arms and said a weary, "Yeah."

* * *

It was easy finding the man's house. They just had to peer into his wallet, look at his driver's license, and then find the address. All his things were gathered with him, and then deposited on his doorstep after Michelangelo rang the doorbell. They quickly dispersed, human and turtles all, and when the man opened the door he saw no one standing there. Just his stolen possessions. And how happy he was to have gotten them back!

But despite doing the good deed, Ahnnie was quiet and reserved as they were heading back to the lair. The turtles on the other hand were quite proud of themselves, but at the same time they were still shaken from witnessing her confrontation with Fong, so their jokes and talk were filled with uncertainty.

It came to such a point that Leonardo couldn't take it anymore. The scene kept playing in his mind's eye and had been bothering him ever since they left the alley. So as soon as they had just reached a building halfway close to the lair, he stopped and stood squarely with a level gaze at Ahnnie.

Everyone stopped along with him, and it didn't take too long for his brothers to sense the tension between him and their human guest.

"What?" Ahnnie asked, but her voice was lacking its previous fire. The question was asked flatly, like a deflated balloon.

"Why did you do that?" Leonardo asked back.

"Do what?"

"Put the gun to Fong's head. If I hadn't stopped you..." His blue eyes narrowed on her. "...would you have...?"

She gave a short huff of a sigh and crossed her arms. "No. Did you really think I would? I just wanted to scare him."

Leonardo looked more relieved. "Oh...ok. Never mind-"

"But I really did mean what I said," she interrupted. "If my enemy cheats, I find it my cue to cheat too. Maybe even more than him."

Silence.

Leonardo gazed hard at her, as if he was unable to comprehend her very being. "You know, it's been bothering me too; that philosophy of yours, and-" he'd just remembered "-and how you refused to rescue the mugged guy in the first place. You don't sound any different than a gangster yourself. Why be that way? I mean, I understand if you have to improvise when the enemy cheats, but to drop to their level-"

"First," she said, holding up her index finger. "I play that way because I do. It has nothing to do with what I think or how I live my life. There are just some people you can't deal with by being a knight in shining armor all the time, and who'll take advantage of you if you are. Don't get me wrong, I hate cheating, but I see no reason not to do it if my opponent does it."

She put up her middle finger next, making the number two sign. "Second, I didn't want to rescue that man because he wasn't any of my business. Do I know him? No. Is he my friend? No. Family? No. So why should I save him? Clearly, if I save him, can I save all the other people in this city who get mugged? How about all the other people in the world? I think I'd be running a tight schedule if I did that."

Leonardo was shocked. "How can you say that? He was an innocent, who got attacked! I know you can't save all the people in the world, but if you had the power and time to help that man, then why not help? Just because you don't know him doesn't mean he's not worth saving! How could you be so selfish?"

"Oh?" Ahnnie was growing angry again. "Selfish, you say? I call it practical. He's just a stranger! We didn't even know about him."

"You were a stranger," Leonardo said. "You were a stranger to us, but we saved you anyway."

"And I thank you for that," she continued, undeterred. "But let me put this plainly: you were lucky when you rescued me. You were lucky that I understood your plight, and that I'm not a gossip, nor someone looking to make a profit. What I'm saying is that when you rescue someone, it's like throwing dice; you don't know what you'll get, and whenever happens is left up to chance."

"Then what about that time with the Kraang?" he asked. "Why did you save _us_, then?"

"I was grateful to you," she replied evenly. "I try to repay people who do good by me, and that's what I did for you." She looked up at the dark night sky, its half-moon glowing behind the clouds. "But don't get the wrong idea; it's not guaranteed that every person you help will be as grateful."

"I'm sure that man was grateful for being able to escape the Purple Dragons and get his things back."

She blinked. "Yeah. Calling you a monster sure was grateful."

"Well, I don't really care about that," Leonardo countered. "At least I helped him, and did a good deed. That's what matters."

There was silence afterwards. The other turtles fidgeted nervously, unable to make heads or tails of this sudden confrontation. If Ahnnie had taken what he'd said to heart, she didn't show it; her face was still the same, although her eyes focused on him with something soft. Something like...pity? Envy? Worry? It was hard to tell.

"Sometimes I wish," she said softly, "that I had that same naïveté...to be selfless and heroic..." Her tone darkened. "But the world isn't worth it. The people that make it up aren't worth that kind of time and energy. Try something like that with them, and they'll only bite back the first chance they get. What really matters are those who are close to me-" she emphasized this by pointing her thumb at herself "-and what belongs to me. Anyone and anything else can go to hell."

Leonardo stiffened, appalled by her rough language (even if it was just the 'h' word) and contradicting philosophy. He went back one step, as if to defend himself for an oncoming blow. "Why...?" he was beginning to ask, but didn't finish.

Ahnnie shrugged, shouldering her backpack higher. "Because." And she leapt ahead to the next building, ending their conversation.

* * *

When they got back to the lair, Splinter was unhappy. The time they spent listening to Ahnnie's adventures, eating the pizza, fighting the Purple Dragons, and discovering Ahnnie's philosophy had taken a toll on the time allowance that the old rat sensei had given them. So it did not escape his mind that his late sons and even their magician friend were in need of a form of punishment. When they came they found him standing only a little ways from the subway entrance, back upright and hands resting upon his cane.

"Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo; where were you?" he asked harshly.

Leonardo bowed his head. "We apologize, sensei; we ran into some difficulties."

"To the dojo," Splinter commanded, and turned around to go. The rest followed, trudging silently after him. When they got to the dojo, he faced them with a harsh gaze in his eyes and waited until they were all seated on their knees. "So," he began. "What were those difficulties? Please explain."

Leonardo felt reluctant to tell him the story. His mouth opened twice to say something, but nothing came out.

It was Ahnnie who spoke instead, but not for what he thought it'd be. "Forgive me, sensei," she said. Her voice was laced with exhaustion. "I'm afraid I cannot stay awake any longer. May I please be excused?"

The turtles looked at her with incredulity; when did she get the audacity to ask that of Splinter, when he was clearly angry?; but to their surprise, the old sensei nodded. "We will discuss your punishment tomorrow," he added.

She bowed her head. "Hai, sensei. And thank you." Then she just stood up and left. The heartlessness of her departure left a weighing burden in the air, as if turning it into lead.

Normally, Raphael would have been the first to question Splinter's leniency. But tonight was different. And the rat sensei could see that in his sons' faces; in fact, he'd seen it in Ahnnie's face too, even before she'd asked to be excused. So he knew something had happened. For the sake of his sons, he wanted to know why, and he pressed them firmly but gently: "Now you may explain."

Leonardo drank in a deep breath before speaking. He then retold the events of their night out as well as he could. Well, the parts that really mattered, anyway; Splinter was not one to tarry with petty details. When he got to the conflict with the Purple Dragons, his voice was speeding up with the vivacity of it all, until that moment when Ahnnie pointed the gun at Fong's head. And then they learned of what she was truly like...

"I just don't understand," Leonardo said, finishing his narrative. "How could she just...disregard people like that? I mean, when someone needs your help, you help them, right? How could she be so selfish?" he asked for the second time that night.

Splinter was silent for a moment, before looking over at the other turtles. "Raphael, what do you think of this?"

Raphael straightened up, a confused look on his face. "Me, sensei?"

"Mm."

"Uh...why?" But then he quickly said, "I mean, of course it's selfish to think that way. I don't care how she deals with her enemies, but what she did with Fong was way over the top; and what's worse was that she wanted to ignore that man." He shrugged. "Just saying."

Splinter turned to Donatello. "Donatello, what are your thoughts?"

Donnie fidgeted a little nervously. "Well...I...not to pry into people's business, but...I just don't know how anyone can live like that...how does she even make friends in the first place? I mean, I know I can't help all the people in the world, but the greatest evil of good has always been turning a blind eye to evil's doings. Isn't that right, sensei?"

"You make a good point, Donatello," Splinter agreed. Turning to Mikey, "And you, Michelangelo?"

"I think," Mikey immediately answered, "we should hold her down, put a strait jacket over her, and lock her up somewhere far, far away." He paused, and the continued, "But for some reason, I feel differently...it's hard to say..."

"You feel differently from what you think?" Raphael asked. "Are you playing mind tricks with us?"

Mikey shook his head. "No, no, no. I'm not Donnie, so don't expect me to explain it as good." He sighed, and said, "I just feel sad for her. To live like that, you've gotta be a sad person. Sad."

Splinter nodded and then faced them all. "I have gathered your opinions; would you like to hear mine?"

They all looked at each other and nodded tentatively. "Of course, sensei," Leonardo said. "Why wouldn't we?"

"Good," the old rat answered. He began to pace. "Personally, I also believe her philosophy is selfish. Selfish, and practical at the same time."

Leonardo was shocked. "Why, sensei?" And why did he happen to nail it spot-on, just as she'd said?

"First, let us consider how she came to think that way," Splinter said. "I am sure she did not wake up one day and decide that she would become a selfish person. Perhaps we can start with her childhood, as most people do?" The question was rhetorical, so he just continued. "At age six, she discovered her magic and imagination; a happy discovery. At the same time, her parents were going through a divorce; a not so happy discovery.

"However, six is too young of an age to start thinking so deeply. It is an age, though, where the child is easily affected by the parents' decisions. Maybe it was planted there as a seedling, at the very beginning?"

Leonardo raised a hand. "Sensei, I hardly think that's the case..."

"What _is _the case, then?" Splinter asked, folding his hands on his cane.

"When she told us of her adventures during that time," Leo said, "she sounded very happy. And innocent. So I don't think that was when..." He trailed off, unable to say it.

Splinter nodded. "Let us move farther. What happens next, is her family's conflict. The truth was not entirely known to her yet, but the tensions were visible. How does a child react to the scene of family acting like strangers? Not very positively, of course. But, as she had said, she was simply confused. Not yet turned, or changed by what she saw. Yet witnessing and knowing these things is not a far cry from changing due to them.

"Now, we come to her greatest discovery: the _BAN MAI_. She overheard her grandmother speaking to someone. What their conversation was, and who that person was, is unknown. But what is clear is that he was a stranger. From there, she discovered that a core part of her family had been working with strangers to ruin her mother, a fellow family member. Can you perhaps discern the similarities from her speech here?"

The words came back to all of them vividly.

_He's just a stranger! _

_Is he my friend? No. Family? No. So why should I save him?_

_...the world isn't worth it. The people that make it up aren't worth that time and energy...What really matters are those who are close to me, and what belongs to me._

_Anyone and anything else can go to hell._

"In turn, her estranged family members became strangers. They no longer mattered. That was not only how she protected herself, but her belief that her mother was in the right. And at any rate, she realized that sooner or later she would be used as a weapon in their conflict; as was revealed when her father sought sole custody of her and her sister." Splinter stopped talking to stroke his beard for a while. "The word 'stranger' was given a new definition. For her, it now not only means someone unfamiliar, but someone unfamiliar who is out to hurt her and her loved ones." He looked at his sons. "Think about it, if our family lived on the surface, and we were surrounded by no one but ill-wishing strangers. Would you still save them? Or would you save your family first?"

That put a new perspective on things. The turtles grew thoughtful as they tried to think of Splinter's example; and slowly came to realize that they too might vouch for family first. If the strangers around them were ill-wishing...if they never meant any good, but only harm...it wasn't so hard to suddenly shut them out, to not care for them.

"So you see, my sons," Splinter said, "her philosophy is selfish. It focuses on the self, what the self considers as the top priority; but it is practical, because that priority happens to be those who are close to her. It shuts out everything else, both bad and good. But in that way it also filters through the different faces she meets, and though it is a long process, it allows her to find 'the diamond in the rough'...in other words, a friend amongst the strangers. By making her standards high, she is able to choose a friend who is truly not of the rubble. That, Donatello, answers your question about how she makes friends."

Donnie nodded. "I see. Thank you, sensei."

"If she hadn't valued you as friends, she never would have warned you about Fong's hidden gun," Splinter continued. "She acted out the way she did because she was angry. Do you see? She showed tonight how you were close to her, and sacrificed Fong's peace of mind to protect you. And she did not want to rescue the man that was his victim, because she didn't want any of you to get into any unnecessary hurt." He looked down to the ground, smiling sadly. "Perhaps, if I had been the same way, I could have saved Tang Shen and Miwa..." His voice trailed off, and his eyes grew distant. But he came back to them quickly. "Never mind. That is a different story; I fear I am also struggling to stay awake."

"You should get some rest, sensei," Michelangelo suggested helpfully.

"Yeah, it's not good to stay up too long," Raphael added.

Splinter smiled. "How nice and considerate of you two. But don't you think we're missing something?"

"Missing...what?" Raphael asked innocently.

"All of you, Ahnnie included, have come home later than your curfew. While we were talking, I was thinking of some ways to correct it..."

The turtles were silent. What was he thinking of?

"You are grounded from the surface for three days," Splinter said at last. Before anyone else could protest, he added, "If you have any complaints, I shall add them to the number of days." That was efficient to silence them. He turned around, heading for his room. "Dismissed. Go to sleep."

* * *

There were still many things that Leonardo couldn't shrug off as he lay awake in his bunk that night. He knew there were people with different views out there in the world; and he knew that those views were not likely to match his. However, knowing and seeing were two totally different things. To see that sudden fury in Ahnnie's eyes as she held Fong at gunpoint, and then the empty grimness when she argued with him on the rooftops; it was so unlike the smile she'd given him earlier that night, and the laughs of exhilaration when she flew with them. It was as if she'd changed into a different person entirely.

Splinter's explanation did clear a few things. Leo was now able to get a grasp of why Ahnnie would be so coldhearted; and he had to admit, it sounded a lot more honorable in Splinter's words than Ahnnie's. He was also touched, in a way, to know that what she did, she did it because she cared for them.

But was it worth being at the expense of another person? Even if it was Fong; no, never mind Fong; if it was at the expense of the mugged man, would he still feel touched? He realized, no; he didn't want to be protected that way. It just seemed so selfish, so _wrong._ It went against almost everything Splinter taught him about compassion and mercy. He also believed that no matter how bad a person appeared to be, deep down, they had to have some good in them.

_She just hasn't had the chance to find that out, _he thought. _Her family set a bad example. Maybe...maybe if things were different...no, maybe if things _can _be different now...is it too late? _

He pressed his head more snugly onto his pillow, and closed his eyes._ Well, whatever she decides to do, I hope there's one thing she'll keep, in the very least:_

_Her humanity._

* * *

The next morning Ahnnie woke up feeling like a million years old. She hadn't felt so tired in...well, forever. Which was strange because she had slept without any disturbances or dreams; the kind of deep sleep that is peaceful and usually supposed to reinvigorate. Instead it just left her empty, sucked dry of life.

_Five more minutes _was the first thing that came to her mind. But she shrugged it off and sat up, rubbing her eyes and brushing away her side bangs so that they didn't completely cover her right eye. It was hard to tell morning from night in the lair, as it was underground. But there was a grate right above the dojo that sometimes let in the sunlight which Ahnnie could check; and at any rate, she had to learn of her punishment from Splinter-sensei. So it would be, as they say, 'killing two birds with one stone'.

She sighed and dragged herself away from the couch, plodding aimlessly toward the bathroom. When she finished refreshing herself, she exited but paused directly outside the doorway.

_Why did I have to let them see me that way? _she thought. _I must have confused them...they probably think I'm some sort of monster now..._

That was an exaggeration, but not far from the truth. She hadn't forgotten the looks on their faces after the incident with Fong, and when she told them what she thought of strangers.

But she couldn't help it. She'd been so used to acting as she wanted, that she hadn't prepared herself for when other people would judge. So she blatantly let them know, told them what she thought of the world in general...But did she regret it? The scariest thing she found out was that she had no remorse about telling them. No remorse at all, for putting that look in their eyes. What else was she supposed to do, though; keep quiet? Go along with their ideas and lie to herself?

She shook her head. _I'm just tired. Still tired, I mean. _She closed the bathroom door after her and stepped away into the kitchen. _Coffee...coffee, _she repeated, searching for the coffee. Then she remembered that there was no coffee-making machine, or coffee. She shook her head again, and opened the fridge. She stared at it for a long time, and then closed it without taking anything out.

"Like a real moody teenager," she muttered, remarking to herself about her strange behavior.

Just then some sounds were coming from the turtles' bunks. Ahnnie instinctively turned her head in that direction. _They're waking up. _She turned back to the fridge, thinking. _They'll want breakfast..._

When Michelangelo was coming out to make the breakfast; such was his duty every morning; he saw Ahnnie standing at the stove unable to make heads or tails of the frying pan. It was either that or she was appreciating the circular symmetry of the pan. A little confused, he came over to her and took the pan away. She gave him his attention then, albeit a little surprised.

"O-oh, Mikey," she stuttered. She gave him her best conjured smile. "I was just getting ready to make some eggs."

"Upside-down?" he asked.

"What?" She looked at the pan. "Uh..." She chuckled nervously. "Eheh...oops..." Then she sighed. "I give up. I don't feel fit to make anything."

Michelangelo looked concerned. "Oh no! Are you sick?"

"No..." Ahnnie frowned. "Why...why are you worrying for me?"

He seemed taken aback. "Well, why _shouldn't _I?"

"But...but yesterday..."

That put a lightbulb in his memory. "Oh, yesterday!"

Just at that moment, the other turtles filed in. They sat at the kitchen table, talking while waiting for their breakfast to be cooked. Ahnnie's eyes went over to them, and she observed that they were back to their usual selves. Talking, joking, teasing...

"What..." she was going to ask, but instead it changed to, "why?"

Michelangelo peered into her face. "Well, you're gonna have to explain what you mean first. I don't get what you're trying to say!" He said it almost jokingly, with a smile on his face.

She faced him then, biting her lower lip. Then, "Why are you all still normal, like nothing's wrong?" Her voice was perilously loud, but in more of a plea than an accusation. "Even though you know what I said...even though it bothered you...why?" When she saw their incomprehensible faces look up to her, she tightened her fists. _I take it back, _she thought. _I do feel guilty for letting them know. They didn't have to..._

Donatello sighed, folding his hands on the table like a professional businessman. "Ahnnie...last night, when you went to sleep, we had a talk with Splinter." He looked up. "Well, we had to tell him, because he wanted to know. And he explained it to us...so that we could understand..."

"What did he say?" she asked.

Michelangelo put a hand on her shoulder. "He said you just wanted to protect us. And that you think the way you do because of your family."

"The way they turned on each other, he means," Donatello added.

Ahnnie was silent. She was tense, hopeful, and curious at the same time. "So..."

Raphael shrugged. "What can we say? Everyone's different. And hey, just 'cause we don't agree with you, doesn't make you a bad guy. It just...surprised us, that's all." He smiled, then added, "I know we kind of reacted to it badly...but when Splinter explained it, we realized it wasn't as bad as we thought. And I guess, we owe you one."

"We're friends now," Leonardo added. "The least we can do is try to understand each other. And, I guess, that's what Splinter helped us to do."

"So it's cool," Michelangelo said. His hand was still on her shoulder. "Just, maybe, tone down on the evilness? You really scared us with Fong last night."

Ahnnie blinked, staring at him as if he were something she'd never seen before. Her mouth slowly curved into a smile, and at the same time her hand was reaching up to his face, as if to cup his cheek. But then in one sudden movement, she flung her arms around the orange-masked turtle, embracing him in a full sisterly hug. Mikey was taken aback by the sudden show of affection, but then slowly started hugging her back.

He felt her shaking against him, and heard her breath coming out in quick, rushed huffs. Then he realized she was crying. "Ah-Ahnnie?" he asked in alarm.

Ahnnie sniffed and wiped at her tears with her hand while still hugging Mikey. "I...I...I don't know why I'm crying," she answered at last. To the turtles at the table, who could see her face, she was smiling and crying at the same time. Then she released him, head bent down and eyes wiping vigorously at her eyes. "Sorry," she apologized between sobs. "I guess...I just got so happy...and I..."

She shrugged, and held her head up. Her crying had subsided, although her eyes still looked wet. "Thank you."

"Hey, why does Mikey get all the credit?" Raphael asked playfully.

"Maybe it's 'cause I'm the best," Michelangelo suggested with a flourishing gesture at himself.

Ahnnie laughed, and tore a piece of paper towel to wipe at her eyes and blow her nose. "I meant to say it to you all," she said. "But enough of that; let's eat some breakfast. Who wants omelets?"

Michelangelo stepped in. "Naw, you sit down, I'll do it."

"C'mon. My treat." She tilted her head. "Or do you want to make it a competition? Whoever makes the best omelets, wins."

"Deal!"

And so they made breakfast that morning, with Leo, Raph, and Donnie as the judges to their little contest. As to who was the winner...well, you decide.


End file.
